VMware ESXI - 6.7 Installation Manual

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VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

17 APR 2018 VMware vSphere 6.7 VMware ESXi 6.7

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VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at:

https://docs.vmware.com/

If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to

docfeedback@vmware.com

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3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com

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About VMware ESXi Installation and Setup 4

Introduction to vSphere Installation and Setup 5

Overview of the vSphere Installation and Setup Process 6

About ESXi Evaluation and Licensed Modes 9

Installing and Setting Up ESXi 10

ESXi Requirements 10

Preparing for Installing ESXi 19

Installing ESXi 70

Setting Up ESXi 188

After You Install and Set Up ESXi 208

Troubleshooting ESXi Booting 212

Host Stops Unexpectedly at Bootup When Sharing a Boot Disk with Another Host 212

Host Fails to Boot After You Install ESXi in UEFI Mode 213

Decommission an ESXi Host 214

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About VMware ESXi Installation

and Setup 1

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup describes how to install and configure VMware ESXi™.

Intended Audience

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup is intended for experienced administrators who want to install and configure ESXi.

This information is written for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with virtual machine technology and data center operations. The information about using the Image Builder and VMware vSphere® Auto Deploy™ is written for administrators who have experience with Microsoft PowerShell and VMware vSphere® PowerCLI™.

vSphere Web Client and vSphere Client

Task instructions in this guide are based on the vSphere Web Client. You can also perform most of the tasks in this guide by using the new vSphere Client. The new vSphere Client user interface terminology, topology, and workflow are closely aligned with the same aspects and elements of the vSphere Web Client user interface. You can apply the vSphere Web Client instructions to the new vSphere Client unless otherwise instructed.

Note In vSphere 6.7, most of the vSphere Web Client functionality is implemented in the vSphere Client.

For an up-to-date list of the unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the vSphere Client.

VMware Technical Publications Glossary

VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For definitions of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

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Introduction to vSphere

Installation and Setup 2

vSphere 6.7 provides various options for installation and setup. To ensure a successful vSphere deployment, understand the installation and setup options, and the sequence of tasks.

The two core components of vSphere are ESXi and vCenter Server. ESXi is the virtualization platform on which you can create and run virtual machines and virtual appliances. vCenter Server is a service that acts as a central administrator for ESXi hosts connected in a network. vCenter Server lets you pool and manage the resources of multiple hosts.

You can install vCenter Server on a Windows virtual machine or physical server, or deploy the vCenter Server Appliance. The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine optimized for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components. You can deploy the vCenter Server Appliance on ESXi hosts 6.0 or later, or on vCenter Server instances 6.0 or later.

Starting with vSphere 6.0, all prerequisite services for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components are bundled in the VMware Platform Services Controller™. You can deploy vCenter Server with an embedded or external Platform Services Controller, but you must always install or deploy the Platform Services Controller before installing or deploying vCenter Server.

For detailed information about the vCenter Server installation process, see vCenter Server Installation and Setup.

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Overview of the vSphere

Installation and Setup Process 3

vSphere is a sophisticated product with multiple components to install and set up. To ensure a successful vSphere deployment, understand the sequence of tasks required.

Installing vSphere includes the following tasks:

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Start the vSphere

installation and setup

End of the vSphere

installation and setup

Small envrionment with one

vCenter Server Instance

Large envrionment with multiple

vCenter Server Instances

Install ESXi

on at least one host

Set up ESXi

Deploy or install vCenter Server

with an embedded Platform

Services Controller

Client to create and organize

your vCenter Server inventory

Client to create and organize

your vCenter Server inventories

Start the vSphere

installation and setup

End of the vSphere

installation and setup

Install ESXi

on at least one host

Set up ESXi

Deploy or install the Platform Services Controller instances

in a sequence

Deploy or install the vCenter Server

instances and register them with the

external Platform Services

Controller instances

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

Figure 3‑1. vSphere Installation and Setup Workﬂow

1 Read the vSphere release notes.

2 Install ESXi.

a Verify that your system meets the minimum hardware requirements. See ESXi Requirements.

b Determine the ESXi installation option to use. See Options for Installing ESXi.

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c Determine where you want to locate and boot the ESXi installer. See Media Options for Booting

the ESXi Installer. If you are using PXE to boot the installer, verify that your network PXE

infrastructure is properly set up. See PXE Booting the ESXi Installer.

d Create a worksheet with the information you will need when you install ESXi. See Required

Information for ESXi Installation.

e Install ESXi.

Installing ESXi Interactively

Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script

Note You can also provision ESXi hosts by using vSphere Auto Deploy, but vSphere Auto

Deploy is installed together with vCenter Server. To provision ESXi hosts by using Auto Deploy, you must deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or install vCenter Server.

3 Configure the ESXi boot and network settings, the direct console, and other settings. See Setting Up

ESXi and After You Install and Set Up ESXi.

4 Consider setting up a syslog server for remote logging, to ensure sufficient disk storage for log files.

Setting up logging on a remote host is especially important for hosts with limited local storage. See

Required Free Space for System Logging and Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts.

5 Determine the vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller deployment model that is suitable for

your environment.

6 Deploy or install vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller.

For detailed information, see the vCenter Server Installation and Setup guide.

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About ESXi Evaluation and

Licensed Modes 4

You can use evaluation mode to explore the entire set of features for ESXi hosts. The evaluation mode provides the set of features equal to a vSphere Enterprise Plus license. Before the evaluation mode expires, you must assign to your hosts a license that supports all the features in use.

For example, in evaluation mode, you can use vSphere vMotion technology, the vSphere HA feature, the vSphere DRS feature, and other features. If you want to continue using these features, you must assign a license that supports them.

The installable version of ESXi hosts is always installed in evaluation mode. ESXi Embedded is preinstalled on an internal storage device by your hardware vendor. It might be in evaluation mode or prelicensed.

The evaluation period is 60 days and begins when you turn on the ESXi host. At any time during the 60day evaluation period, you can convert from licensed mode to evaluation mode. The time available in the evaluation period is decreased by the time already used.

For example, suppose that you use an ESXi host in evaluation mode for 20 days and then assign a vSphere Standard Edition license key to the host. If you set the host back in evaluation mode, you can explore the entire set of features for the host for the remaining evaluation period of 40 days.

For information about managing licensing for ESXi hosts, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.

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Installing and Setting Up ESXi 5

You can install and set up ESXi on your physical hardware so that it acts as a platform for virtual machines.

This chapter includes the following topics:

ESXi Requirements

Preparing for Installing ESXi

Installing ESXi

Setting Up ESXi

After You Install and Set Up ESXi

ESXi Requirements

To install or upgrade ESXi, your system must meet specific hardware and software requirements.

ESXi Hardware Requirements

Make sure the host meets the minimum hardware configurations supported by ESXi6.7.

Hardware and System Resources

To install or upgrade ESXi, your hardware and system resources must meet the following requirements:

Supported server platform. For a list of supported platforms, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at

http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

ESXi 6.7 requires a host machine with at least two CPU cores.

ESXi 6.7 supports 64-bit x86 processors released after September 2006. This includes a broad range of multi-core processors. For a complete list of supported processors, see the VMware compatibility guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

ESXi 6.7 requires the NX/XD bit to be enabled for the CPU in the BIOS.

ESXi 6.7 requires a minimum of 4 GB of physical RAM. It is recommended to provide at least 8 GB of RAM to run virtual machines in typical production environments.

To support 64-bit virtual machines, support for hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x or AMD RVI) must be enabled on x64 CPUs.

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One or more Gigabit or faster Ethernet controllers. For a list of supported network adapter models, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

SCSI disk or a local, non-network, RAID LUN with unpartitioned space for the virtual machines.

For Serial ATA (SATA), a disk connected through supported SAS controllers or supported on-board SATA controllers. SATA disks are considered remote, not local. These disks are not used as a scratch partition by default because they are seen as remote.

Note You cannot connect a SATA CD-ROM device to a virtual machine on an ESXi 6.7 host. To use

the SATA CD-ROM device, you must use IDE emulation mode.

Storage Systems

For a list of supported storage systems, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at

http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility. For Software Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), see Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE.

ESXi Booting Requirements

vSphere 6.7 supports booting ESXi hosts from the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). With UEFI, you can boot systems from hard drives, CD-ROM drives, or USB media.

Starting with vSphere 6.7, VMware Auto Deploy supports network booting and provisioning of ESXi hosts with UEFI.

ESXi can boot from a disk larger than 2 TB if the system firmware and the firmware on any add-in card that you are using support it. See the vendor documentation.

Note Changing the boot type from legacy BIOS to UEFI after you install ESXi 6.7 might cause the host

to fail to boot. In this case, the host displays an error message similar to Not a VMware boot bank. Changing the host boot type between legacy BIOS and UEFI is not supported after you install ESXi 6.7.

Storage Requirements for ESXi 6.7 Installation or Upgrade

Installing ESXi 6.7 or upgrading to ESXi 6.7 requires a boot device that is a minimum of 1 GB. When booting from a local disk, SAN or iSCSI LUN, a 5.2-GB disk is required to allow for the creation of the VMFS volume and a 4-GB scratch partition on the boot device. If a smaller disk or LUN is used, the installer attempts to allocate a scratch region on a separate local disk. If a local disk cannot be found the scratch partition, /scratch, is on the ESXi host ramdisk, linked to /tmp/scratch. You can reconfigure /scratch to use a separate disk or LUN. For best performance and memory optimization, do not leave /scratch on the ESXi host ramdisk.

To reconfigure /scratch, see Set the Scratch Partition from the vSphere Web Client.

Due to the I/O sensitivity of USB and SD devices, the installer does not create a scratch partition on these devices. When installing or upgrading on USB or SD devices, the installer attempts to allocate a scratch region on an available local disk or datastore. If no local disk or datastore is found, /scratch is placed on the ramdisk. After the installation or upgrade, you should reconfigure /scratch to use a persistent

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datastore. Although a 1GB USB or SD device suffices for a minimal installation, you should use a 4GB or larger device. The extra space is used for an expanded coredump partition on the USB/SD device. Use a high-quality USB flash drive of 16 GB or larger so that the extra flash cells can prolong the life of the boot media, but high-quality drives of 4 GB or larger are sufficient to hold the extended coredump partition. See Knowledge Base article http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2004784.

In Auto Deploy installations, the installer attempts to allocate a scratch region on an available local disk or datastore. If no local disk or datastore is found, /scratch is placed on ramdisk. You should reconfigure /scratch to use a persistent datastore following the installation.

For environments that boot from a SAN or use Auto Deploy, you need not allocate a separate LUN for each ESXi host. You can co-locate the scratch regions for many ESXi hosts onto a single LUN. The number of hosts assigned to any single LUN should be weighed against the LUN size and the I/O behavior of the virtual machines.

ESXi 6.7 Installation on M.2 and other Non-USB Low-end Flash Media

Unlike USB flash devices, the ESXi installer creates a VMFS datastore on M.2 and other non-USB lowend flash media. If you deploy a virtual machine or migrate a virtual machine to this boot device datastore, the boot device can be worn out quickly depending on the endurance of the flash device and the characteristics of the workload. Even read-only workloads can cause problems on low-end flash devices.

Important If you install ESXi on M.2 or other non-USB low-end flash media, delete the VMFS datastore

on the device immediately after installation. See vSphere Storage for more information on removing VMFS datastores.

Supported Remote Management Server Models and Firmware Versions

You can use remote management applications to install or upgrade ESXi, or to manage hosts remotely.

Table 5‑1. Supported Remote Management Server Models and Minimum Firmware Versions

Remote Management Server Model Firmware Version Java

Dell DRAC 7 1.30.30 (Build 43) 1.7.0_60-b19

Dell DRAC 6 1.54 (Build 15), 1.70 (Build 21) 1.6.0_24

Dell DRAC 5 1.0, 1.45, 1.51 1.6.0_20,1.6.0_203

Dell DRAC 4 1.75 1.6.0_23

HP ILO 1.81, 1.92 1.6.0_22, 1.6.0_23

HP ILO 2 1.8, 1.81 1.6.0_20, 1.6.0_23

HP ILO 3 1.28 1.7.0_60-b19

HP ILO 4 1.13 1.7.0_60-b19

IBM RSA 2 1.03, 1.2 1.6.0_22

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Recommendations for Enhanced ESXi Performance

To enhance performance, install or upgrade ESXi on a robust system with more RAM than the minimum required and with multiple physical disks.

For ESXi system requirements, see ESXi Hardware Requirements.

Table 5‑2. Recommendations for Enhanced Performance

System Element Recommendation

RAM ESXi hosts require more RAM than typical servers. Provide at

least 8GB of RAM to take full advantage of ESXi features and run virtual machines in typical production environments. An ESXi host must have sufficient RAM to run concurrent virtual machines. The following examples are provided to help you calculate the RAM required by the virtual machines running on the ESXi host.

Operating four virtual machines with Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Windows XP requires at least 3GB of RAM for baseline performance. This figure includes approximately 1024MB for the virtual machines, 256MB minimum for each operating system as recommended by vendors.

Running these four virtual machines with 512MB RAM requires that the ESXi host have approximately 4GB RAM, which includes 2048MB for the virtual machines.

These calculations do not take into account possible memory savings from using variable overhead memory for each virtual machine. See vSphere Resource Management.

Dedicated Fast Ethernet adapters for virtual machines Place the management network and virtual machine networks

on different physical network cards. Dedicated Gigabit Ethernet cards for virtual machines, such as Intel PRO 1000 adapters, improve throughput to virtual machines with high network traffic.

Disk location Place all data that your virtual machines use on physical disks

allocated specifically to virtual machines. Performance is better when you do not place your virtual machines on the disk containing the ESXi boot image. Use physical disks that are large enough to hold disk images that all the virtual machines use.

VMFS5 partitioning The ESXi installer creates the initial VMFS volumes on the first

blank local disk found. To add disks or modify the original configuration, use the vSphere Web Client. This practice ensures that the starting sectors of partitions are 64K-aligned, which improves storage performance.

Note For SAS-only environments, the installer might not format

the disks. For some SAS disks, it is not possible to identify whether the disks are local or remote. After the installation, you can use the vSphere Web Client to set up VMFS.

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Table 5‑2. Recommendations for Enhanced Performance (Continued)

System Element Recommendation

Processors Faster processors improve ESXi performance. For certain

workloads, larger caches improve ESXi performance.

Hardware compatibility Use devices in your server that are supported by ESXi 6.7

drivers. See the Hardware Compatibility Guide at

http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.

Incoming and Outgoing Firewall Ports for ESXi Hosts

The vSphere Web Client and the VMware Host Client allow you to open and close firewall ports for each service or to allow traffic from selected IP addresses.

The following table lists the firewalls for services that are installed by default. If you install other VIBs on your host, additional services and firewall ports might become available. The information is primarily for services that are visible in the vSphere Web Client but the table includes some other ports as well.

Table 5‑3. Incoming Firewall Connections

Protoc

Port

5988 TCP CIM Server Server for CIM (Common Information Model).

5989 TCP CIM Secure Server Secure server for CIM.

427 TCP,

546 DHCPv6 DHCP client for IPv6.

8301, 8302 UDP DVSSync DVSSync ports are used for synchronizing states of distributed virtual ports

902 TCP NFC Network File Copy (NFC) provides a file-type-aware FTP service for vSphere

12345, 23451 UDP vSANClustering

68 UDP DHCP Client DHCP client for IPv4.

53 UDP DNS Client DNS client.

ol Service Description

CIM SLP The CIM client uses the Service Location Protocol, version 2 (SLPv2) to find

UDP

Service

CIM servers.

between hosts that have VMware FT record/replay enabled. Only hosts that run primary or backup virtual machines must have these ports open. On hosts that are not using VMware FT these ports do not have to be open.

components. ESXi uses NFC for operations such as copying and moving data between datastores by default.

VMware vSAN Cluster Monitoring and Membership Directory Service. Uses UDP-based IP multicast to establish cluster members and distribute vSAN metadata to all cluster members. If disabled, vSAN does not work.

8200, 8100, 8300

6999 UDP NSX Distributed

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TCP, UDP

Fault Tolerance Traffic between hosts for vSphere Fault Tolerance (FT).

NSX Virtual Distributed Router service. The firewall port associated with this Logical Router Service

service is opened when NSX VIBs are installed and the VDR module is

created. If no VDR instances are associated with the host, the port does not

have to be open.

This service was called NSX Distributed Logical Router in earlier versions of

the product.

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Table 5‑3. Incoming Firewall Connections (Continued)

Protoc

Port

2233 TCP vSAN Transport vSAN reliable datagram transport. Uses TCP and is used for vSAN storage

161 UDP SNMP Server Allows the host to connect to an SNMP server.

22 TCP SSH Server Required for SSH access.

8000 TCP vMotion Required for virtual machine migration with vMotion. ESXi hosts listen on port

902, 443 TCP vSphere Web Client Client connections

8080 TCP vsanvp vSAN VASA Vendor Provider. Used by the Storage Management Service

80 TCP vSphere Web Access Welcome page, with download links for different interfaces.

5900 -5964 TCP RFB protocol

ol Service Description

IO. If disabled, vSAN does not work.

8000 for TCP connections from remote ESXi hosts for vMotion traffic.

(SMS) that is part of vCenter to access information about vSAN storage

profiles, capabilities, and compliance. If disabled, vSAN Storage Profile Based

Management (SPBM) does not work.

80, 9000 TCP vSphere Update

Manager

Table 5‑4. Outgoing Firewall Connections

Port Protocol Service Description

427 TCP, UDP CIM SLP The CIM client uses the Service Location Protocol, version 2

(SLPv2) to find CIM servers.

547 TCP, UDP DHCPv6 DHCP client for IPv6.

8301, 8302 UDP DVSSync DVSSync ports are used for synchronizing states of distributed

virtual ports between hosts that have VMware FT record/replay enabled. Only hosts that run primary or backup virtual machines must have these ports open. On hosts that are not using VMware FT these ports do not have to be open.

44046, 31031 TCP HBR Used for ongoing replication traffic by vSphere Replication and

VMware Site Recovery Manager.

902 TCP NFC Network File Copy (NFC) provides a file-type-aware FTP service

for vSphere components. ESXi uses NFC for operations such as copying and moving data between datastores by default.

9 UDP WOL Used by Wake on LAN.

12345 23451 UDP vSAN Clustering

Service

Cluster Monitoring, Membership, and Directory Service used by vSAN.

68 UDP DHCP Client DHCP client.

53 TCP, UDP DNS Client DNS client.

80, 8200, 8100, 8300 TCP, UDP Fault Tolerance Supports VMware Fault Tolerance.

3260 TCP Software iSCSI Client Supports software iSCSI.

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Table 5‑4. Outgoing Firewall Connections (Continued)

Port Protocol Service Description

6999 UDP NSX Distributed

Logical Router Service

5671 TCP rabbitmqproxy A proxy running on the ESXi host. This proxy allows applications

2233 TCP vSAN Transport Used for RDT traffic (Unicast peer to peer communication)

8000 TCP vMotion Required for virtual machine migration with vMotion.

902 UDP VMware vCenter

Agent

8080 TCP vsanvp Used for vSAN Vendor Provider traffic.

9080 TCP I/O Filter Service Used by the I/O Filters storage feature

The firewall port associated with this service is opened when NSX VIBs are installed and the VDR module is created. If no VDR instances are associated with the host, the port does not have to be open.

that are running inside virtual machines to communicate with the AMQP brokers that are running in the vCenter network domain.

The virtual machine does not have to be on the network, that is, no NIC is required. Ensure that outgoing connection IP addresses include at least the brokers in use or future. You can add brokers later to scale up.

between vSAN nodes.

vCenter Server agent.

Table 5‑5. Firewall Ports for Services That Are Not Visible in the UI by Default

Proto

Port

5900 -5964 TCP RFB protocol The RFB protocol is a simple protocol for remote access to graphical user

8889 TCP OpenWSMAN

col Service Comment

interfaces.

Web Services Management (WS-Management is a DMTF open standard for

Daemon

the management of servers, devices, applications, and Web services.

Required Free Space for System Logging

If you used Auto Deploy to install your ESXi 6.7 host, or if you set up a log directory separate from the default location in a scratch directory on the VMFS volume, you might need to change your current log size and rotation settings to ensure that enough space is available for system logging .

All vSphere components use this infrastructure. The default values for log capacity in this infrastructure vary, depending on the amount of storage available and on how you have configured system logging. Hosts that are deployed with Auto Deploy store logs on a RAM disk, which means that the amount of space available for logs is small.

If your host is deployed with Auto Deploy, reconfigure your log storage in one of the following ways:

Redirect logs over the network to a remote collector.

Redirect logs to a NAS or NFS store.

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If you redirect logs to non-default storage, such as a NAS or NFS store, you might also want to reconfigure log sizing and rotations for hosts that are installed to disk.

You do not need to reconfigure log storage for ESXi hosts that use the default configuration, which stores logs in a scratch directory on the VMFS volume. For these hosts, ESXi 6.7 configures logs to best suit your installation, and provides enough space to accommodate log messages.

Table 5‑6. Recommended Minimum Size and Rotation Conﬁguration for hostd, vpxa, and fdm Logs

Number of Rotations to

Log Maximum Log File Size

Management Agent (hostd) 10 MB 10 100 MB

VirtualCenter Agent (vpxa) 5 MB 10 50 MB

Preserve Minimum Disk Space Required

vSphere HA agent (Fault Domain Manager, fdm)

5 MB 10 50 MB

For information about setting up a remote log server, see Configure Syslog on ESXi Hosts.

VMware Host Client System Requirements

Make sure that your browser supports the VMware Host Client.

The following guest operating systems and Web browser versions are supported for the VMware Host Client.

Supported Browsers Mac OS Windows Linux

Google Chrome 50+ 50+ 50+

Mozilla Firefox 45+ 45+ 45+

Microsoft Internet Explorer N/A 11+ N/A

Microsoft Edge N/A 38+ N/A

Safari 9.0+ N/A N/A

ESXi Passwords and Account Lockout

For ESXi hosts, you have to use a password with predefined requirements. You can change the required length and character class requirement or allow pass phrases using the Security.PasswordQualityControl advanced option.

ESXi uses the Linux PAM module pam_passwdqc for password management and control. See the man page for pam_passwdqc for detailed information.

Note The default requirements for ESXi passwords can change from one release to the next. You can

check and change the default password restrictions using the Security.PasswordQualityControl advanced option.

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ESXi Passwords

ESXi enforces password requirements for access from the Direct Console User Interface, the ESXi Shell, SSH, or the VMware Host Client.

By default, you have to include a mix of characters from four character classes: lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters such as underscore or dash when you create a password.

By default, password length is more than 7 and less than 40.

Passwords cannot contain a dictionary word or part of a dictionary word.

Note An uppercase character that begins a password does not count toward the number of character

classes used. A number that ends a password does not count toward the number of character classes used.

Example ESXi Passwords

The following password candidates illustrate potential passwords if the option is set as follows.

retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,disabled,7,7

With this setting, passwords with one or two character classes and pass phrases are not allowed, because the first three items are disabled. Passwords from three- and four-character classes require seven characters. See the pam_passwdqc man page for details.

With these settings, the following passwords are allowed.

xQaTEhb!: Contains eight characters from three character classes.

xQaT3#A: Contains seven characters from four character classes.

The following password candidates do not meet requirements.

Xqat3hi: Begins with an uppercase character, reducing the effective number of character classes to two. The minimum number of required character classes is three.

xQaTEh2: Ends with a number, reducing the effective number of character classes to two. The minimum number of required character classes is three.

ESXi Pass Phrase

Instead of a password, you can also use a pass phrase; however, pass phrases are disabled by default. You can change this default or other settings, by using the Security.PasswordQualityControl advanced option from the vSphere Web Client.

For example, you can change the option to the following.

retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,16,7,7

This example allows pass phrases of at least 16 characters and at least 3 words, separated by spaces.

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For legacy hosts, changing the /etc/pamd/passwd file is still supported, but changing the file is deprecated for future releases. Use the Security.PasswordQualityControl advanced option instead.

Changing Default Password Restrictions

You can change the default restriction on passwords or pass phrases by using the

Security.PasswordQualityControl advanced option for your ESXi host. See the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation for information on setting ESXi advanced options.

You can change the default, for example, to require a minimum of 15 characters and a minimum number of four words, as follows:

retry=3 min=disabled,disabled,15,7,7 passphrase=4

See the man page for pam_passwdqc for details.

Note Not all possible combinations of the options for pam_passwdqc have been tested. Perform

additional testing after you change the default password settings.

ESXi Account Lockout Behavior

Starting with vSphere 6.0, account locking is supported for access through SSH and through the vSphere Web Services SDK. The Direct Console Interface (DCUI) and the ESXi Shell do not support account lockout. By default, a maximum of ten failed attempts is allowed before the account is locked. The account is unlocked after two minutes by default.

Conﬁguring Login Behavior

You can configure the login behavior for your ESXi host with the following advanced options:

Security.AccountLockFailures. Maximum number of failed login attempts before a user's account is locked. Zero disables account locking.

Security.AccountUnlockTime. Number of seconds that a user is locked out.

See the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation for information on setting ESXi advanced options.

Preparing for Installing ESXi

Before you install ESXi, determine the installation option that is suitable for your environment and prepare for the installation process.

Download the ESXi Installer

Download the installer for ESXi.

Prerequisites

Create a My VMware account at https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/.

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Procedure

1 Download the ESXi installer from the VMware Web site at

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads.

ESXi is listed under Datacenter & Cloud Infrastructure.

2 Confirm that the md5sum is correct.

See the VMware Web site topic Using MD5 Checksums at

http://www.vmware.com/download/md5.html.

Options for Installing ESXi

ESXi can be installed in several ways. To ensure the best vSphere deployment, understand the options thoroughly before beginning the installation.

ESXi installations are designed to accommodate a range of deployment sizes.

Depending on the installation method you choose, different options are available for accessing the installation media and booting the installer.

Interactive ESXi Installation

Interactive installations are recommended for small deployments of fewer than five hosts.

You boot the installer from a CD or DVD, from a bootable USB device, or by PXE booting the installer from a location on the network. You follow the prompts in the installation wizard to install ESXi to disk. See Installing ESXi Interactively.

Scripted ESXi Installation

Running a script is an efficient way to deploy multiple ESXi hosts with an unattended installation.

The installation script contains the host configuration settings. You can use the script to configure multiple hosts with the same settings. See Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script.

The installation script must be stored in a location that the host can access by HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, NFS, CDROM, or USB. You can PXE boot the ESXi installer or boot it from a CD/DVD or USB drive.

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Scripted

HTTP HTTPS FTP NFS CDROM USB

Create installation script (kickstart file)

and copy to appropriate location.

PXE boot

Boot from USB

Issues command to specify

location of installation script

and start installation.

Start installation

Boot from CD

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

Figure 5‑1. Scripted Installation

vSphere Auto Deploy ESXi Installation

vSphere 5.x and later provide several ways to install ESXi with vSphere Auto Deploy.

vSphere Auto Deploy can provision hundreds of physical hosts with ESXi software. You can specify the image to deploy and the hosts to provision with the image. Optionally, you can specify host profiles to apply to the hosts, a vCenter Server location (datacenter, folder, or cluster), and script bundle for each host.

vCenter Server makes ESXi updates and patches available for download in the form of an image profile. The host configuration is provided in the form of a host profile. You can create host profiles by using the vSphere Web Client. You can create custom image profiles by using vSphere ESXi Image Builder. See

Customizing Installations with vSphere ESXi Image Builder and vSphere Host Profiles.

When you provision hosts by using vSphere Auto Deploy, vCenter Server loads the ESXi image directly into the host memory. vSphere Auto Deploy does not store the ESXi state on the host disk. The vSphere Auto Deploy server continues to provision this host every time the host boots.

You can also use vSphere Auto Deploy to install an ESXi host, and set up a host profile that causes the host to store the ESXi image and configuration on the local disk, a remote disk, or a USB drive. Subsequently, the ESXi host boots from this local image and vSphere Auto Deploy no longer provisions the host. This process is similar to performing a scripted installation. With a scripted installation, the script provisions a host and the host then boots from disk. For this case, vSphere Auto Deploy provisions a host and the host then boots from disk. For more information, see Using vSphere Auto Deploy for Stateless

Caching and Stateful Installs.

Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer

The ESXi installer must be accessible to the system on which you are installing ESXi.

The following boot media are supported for the ESXi installer:

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Boot from a CD/DVD. See Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD.

Boot from a USB flash drive. See Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade.

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PXE boot from the network. PXE Booting the ESXi Installer

Boot from a remote location using a remote management application. See Using Remote

Management Applications

Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD

If you do not have an ESXi installation CD/DVD, you can create one.

You can also create an installer ISO image that includes a custom installation script. See Create an

Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script.

Procedure

1 Download the ESXi installer from the VMware Web site at

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads.

ESXi is listed under Datacenter & Cloud Infrastructure.

2 Confirm that the md5sum is correct.

See the VMware Web site topic Using MD5 Checksums at

http://www.vmware.com/download/md5.html.

3 Burn the ISO image to a CD or DVD.

Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade

You can format a USB flash drive to boot the ESXi installation or upgrade.

The instructions in this procedure assume that the USB flash drive is detected as /dev/sdb.

Note The ks.cfg file that contains the installation script cannot be located on the same USB flash drive

that you are using to boot the installation or upgrade.

Prerequisites

Linux machine with superuser access to it

USB flash drive that can be detected by the Linux machine

The ESXi ISO image, VMware-VMvisor-Installer-version_number- build_number.x86_64.iso, which includes the isolinux.cfg file

Syslinux package

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Procedure

1 If your USB flash drive is not detected as /dev/sdb, or you are not sure how your USB flash drive is

detected, determine how it is detected.

a At the command line, run the command for displaying the current log messages.

tail -f /var/log/messages

b Plug in your USB flash drive.

You see several messages that identify the USB flash drive in a format similar to the following message.

Oct 25 13:25:23 ubuntu kernel: [ 712.447080] sd 3:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk

In this example, sdb identifies the USB device. If your device is identified differently, use that identification, in place of sdb.

2 Create a partition table on the USB flash device.

/sbin/fdisk /dev/sdb

a Enter d to delete partitions until they are all deleted.

b Enter n to create a primary partition 1 that extends over the entire disk.

c Enter t to set the type to an appropriate setting for the FAT32 file system, such as c.

d Enter a to set the active flag on partition 1.

e Enter p to print the partition table.

The result should be similar to the following message.

Disk /dev/sdb: 2004 MB, 2004877312 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/sdb1 1 243 1951866 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

f Enter w to write the partition table and exit the program.

3 Format the USB flash drive with the Fat32 file system.

/sbin/mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n USB /dev/sdb1

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4 Install the Syslinux bootloader on the USB flash drive.

The locations of the Syslinux executable file and the mbr.bin file might vary for the different Syslinux versions. For example, if you downloaded Syslinux 6.02, run the following commands.

/usr/bin/syslinux /dev/sdb1

cat /usr/lib/syslinux/mbr/mbr.bin > /dev/sdb

5 Create a destination directory and mount the USB flash drive to it.

mkdir /usbdisk

mount /dev/sdb1 /usbdisk

6 Create a destination directory and mount the ESXi installer ISO image to it.

mkdir /esxi_cdrom

mount -o loop VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.x.x-XXXXXX.x86_64.iso /esxi_cdrom

7 Copy the contents of the ISO image to the USB flash drive.

cp -r /esxi_cdrom/* /usbdisk

8 Rename the isolinux.cfg file to syslinux.cfg.

mv /usbdisk/isolinux.cfg /usbdisk/syslinux.cfg

9 In the /usbdisk/syslinux.cfg file, edit the APPEND -c boot.cfg line to APPEND -c boot.cfg -p

10 Unmount the USB flash drive.

umount /usbdisk

11 Unmount the installer ISO image.

umount /esxi_cdrom

The USB flash drive can boot the ESXi installer.

Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script

You can use a USB flash drive to store the ESXi installation script or upgrade script that is used during scripted installation or upgrade of ESXi.

When multiple USB flash drives are present on the installation machine, the installation software searches for the installation or upgrade script on all attached USB flash drives.

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The instructions in this procedure assume that the USB flash drive is detected as /dev/sdb.

Note Do not store the ks file containing the installation or upgrade script on the same USB flash drive

that you are using to boot the installation or upgrade.

Prerequisites

Linux machine

ESXi installation or upgrade script, the ks.cfg kickstart file

USB flash drive

Procedure

1 Attach the USB flash drive to a Linux machine that has access to the installation or upgrade script.

2 Create a partition table.

/sbin/fdisk /dev/sdb

a Type d to delete partitions until they are all deleted.

b Type n to create primary partition 1 that extends over the entire disk.

c Type t to set the type to an appropriate setting for the FAT32 file system, such as c.

d Type p to print the partition table.

The result should be similar to the following text:

Disk /dev/sdb: 2004 MB, 2004877312 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/sdb1 1 243 1951866 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

e Type w to write the partition table and quit.

3 Format the USB flash drive with the Fat32 file system.

/sbin/mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n USB /dev/sdb1

4 Mount the USB flash drive.

mount /dev/sdb1 /usbdisk

5 Copy the ESXi installation script to the USB flash drive.

cp ks.cfg /usbdisk

6 Unmount the USB flash drive.

The USB flash drive contains the installation or upgrade script for ESXi.

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What to do next

When you boot the ESXi installer, point to the location of the USB flash drive for the installation or upgrade script. See Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script and PXELINUX

Configuration Files.

Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script

You can customize the standard ESXi installer ISO image with your own installation or upgrade script. This customization enables you to perform a scripted, unattended installation or upgrade when you boot the resulting installer ISO image.

See also About Installation and Upgrade Scripts and About the boot.cfg File.

Prerequisites

Linux machine

The ESXi ISO image VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.x.x-XXXXXX.x86_64.iso,where 6.x.x is the version of ESXi you are installing, and XXXXXX is the build number of the installer ISO image

Your custom installation or upgrade script, the ks_cust.cfg kickstart file

Procedure

1 Download the ESXi ISO image from the VMware Web site.

2 Mount the ISO image in a folder:

mount -o loop VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.x.x-XXXXXX.x86_64.iso /esxi_cdrom_mount

XXXXXX is the ESXi build number for the version that you are installing or upgrading to.

3 Copy the contents of cdrom to another folder:

cp -r /esxi_cdrom_mount /esxi_cdrom

4 Copy the kickstart file to /esxi_cdrom.

cp ks_cust.cfg /esxi_cdrom

5 (Optional) Modify the boot.cfg file to specify the location of the installation or upgrade script by

using the kernelopt option.

You must use uppercase characters to provide the path of the script, for example,

kernelopt=runweasel ks=cdrom:/KS_CUST.CFG

The installation or upgrade becomes completely automatic, without the need to specify the kickstart file during the installation or upgrade.

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6 Recreate the ISO image using the mkisofs or the genisoimage command.

Command Syntax

mkisofs mkisofs -relaxed-filenames -J -R -o custom_esxi.iso -b

isolinux.bin -c boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-

info-table -eltorito-alt-boot -eltorito-platform efi -b

efiboot.img -no-emul-boot /esxi_cdrom

genisoimage genisoimage -relaxed-filenames -J -R -o custom_esxi.iso -b

isolinux.bin -c boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-

info-table -eltorito-alt-boot -e efiboot.img -no-emul-

boot /esxi_cdrom

You can use this ISO image for regular boot or UEFI secure boot.

The ISO image includes your custom installation or upgrade script.

What to do next

Install ESXi from the ISO image.

PXE Booting the ESXi Installer

You can use the preboot execution environment (PXE) to boot a host. Starting with vSphere 6.0, you can PXE boot the ESXi installer from a network interface on hosts with legacy BIOS or using UEFI.

ESXi is distributed in an ISO format that is designed to install to flash memory or to a local hard drive. You can extract the files and boot by using PXE.

PXE uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) to boot an operating system over a network.

PXE booting requires some network infrastructure and a machine with a PXE-capable network adapter. Most machines that can run ESXi have network adapters that can PXE boot.

Note PXE booting with legacy BIOS firmware is possible only over IPv4. PXE booting with UEFI

firmware is possible with either IPv4 or IPv6.

Sample DHCP Conﬁgurations

To PXE boot the ESXi installer, the DHCP server must send the address of the TFTP server and the filename of the initial boot loader to the ESXi host.

When the target machine first boots, it broadcasts a packet across the network requesting information to boot itself. The DHCP server responds. The DHCP server must be able to determine whether the target machine is allowed to boot and the location of the initial boot loader binary, typically a file on a TFTP server.

Caution Do not set up a second DHCP server if your network already has one. If multiple DHCP servers

respond to DHCP requests, machines can obtain incorrect or conflicting IP addresses, or can fail to receive the proper boot information. Talk to a network administrator before setting up a DHCP server. For support on configuring DHCP, contact your DHCP server vendor.

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Many DHCP servers can PXE boot hosts. If you are using a version of DHCP for Microsoft Windows, see the DHCP server documentation to determine how to pass the next-server and filename arguments to the target machine.

Example of Booting Using TFTP with IPv4

This example shows how to configure an ISC DHCP server to boot ESXi using a TFTP server at IPv4 address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx.

# ISC DHCP server configuration file snippet. This is not a complete

# configuration file; see the ISC server documentation for details on

# how to configure the DHCP server.

allow booting;

allow bootp;

option client-system-arch code 93 = unsigned integer 16;

class "pxeclients" {

match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";

next-server xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx;

if option client-system-arch = 00:07 or option client-system-arch = 00:09 {

filename = "mboot.efi";

} else {

filename = "pxelinux.0";

}

When a machine attempts to PXE boot, the DHCP server provides an IP address and the location of the pxelinux.0 or mboot.efi binary file on the TFTP server.

Example of Booting Using TFTP with IPv6

This example shows how to configure an ISC DHCPv6 server to boot ESXi using a TFTP server at IPv6 address xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx::xxxx.

# ISC DHCPv6 server configuration file snippet. This is not a complete

# configuration file; see the ISC server documentation for details on

# how to configure the DHCP server.

allow booting;

allow bootp;

option dhcp6.bootfile-url code 59 = string;

option dhcp6.bootfile-url "tftp://[xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx::xxxx]/mboot.efi";

When a machine attempts to PXE boot, the DHCP server provides an IP address and the location of the mboot.efi binary file on the TFTP server.

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Example of Booting Using HTTP with IPv4

This example shows how to configure an ISC DHCP server to boot ESXi using a Web server at IPv4 address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. The example uses gPXELINUX for legacy BIOS hosts and iPXE for UEFI hosts.

# ISC DHCPv6 server configuration file snippet. This is not a complete

# configuration file; see the ISC server documentation for details on

# how to configure the DHCP server.

allow booting;

allow bootp;

option client-system-arch code 93 = unsigned integer 16;

class "pxeclients" {

match if substring(option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient";

next-server xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx;

if option client-system-arch = 00:07 or option client-system-arch = 00:09 {

if exists user-class and option user-class = "iPXE" {

# Instruct iPXE to load mboot.efi as secondary bootloader

filename = "mboot.efi";

} else {

# Load the snponly.efi configuration of iPXE as initial bootloader

filename = "snponly.efi";

}

} else {

filename "gpxelinux.0";

}

When a machine attempts to PXE boot, the DHCP server provides an IP address and the location of the gpxelinux.0 or snponly.efi binary file on the TFTP server. In the UEFI case, iPXE then asks the DHCP server for the next file to load, and this time the server returns mboot.efi as the filename.

Example of Booting Using HTTP with IPv6

This example shows how to configure an ISC DHCPv6 server to boot ESXi using a TFTP server at IPv6 address xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx::xxxx.

# ISC DHCPv6 server configuration file snippet. This is not a complete

# configuration file; see the ISC server documentation for details on

# how to configure the DHCP server.

allow booting;

allow bootp;

option dhcp6.bootfile-url code 59 = string;

if exists user-class and option user-class = "iPXE" {

# Instruct iPXE to load mboot.efi as secondary bootloader

option dhcp6.bootfile-url "tftp://[xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx::xxxx]/mboot.efi";

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} else {

# Load the snponly.efi configuration of iPXE as initial bootloader

option dhcp6.bootfile-url "tftp://[xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx::xxxx]/snponly.efi";

}

When a machine attempts to PXE boot, the DHCP server provides an IP address and the location of the snponly.efi (iPXE) binary file on the TFTP server. iPXE then asks the DHCP server for the next file to load, and this time the server returns mboot.efi as the filename.

PXELINUX Conﬁguration Files

You need a PXELINUX configuration file to boot the ESXi installer on a legacy BIOS system. The configuration file defines the menu displayed to the target ESXi host as it boots up and contacts the TFTP server for all SYSLINUX configurations, including PXELINUX and gPXELINUX.

This section gives general information about PXELINUX configuration files. For examples, see Sample

DHCP Configurations.

For syntax details, see the SYSLINUX web site at http://www.syslinux.org/.

Required Files

In the PXE configuration file, you must include paths to the following files:

mboot.c32 is the boot loader.

boot.cfg is the boot loader configuration file.

See About the boot.cfg File

File Name for the PXE Conﬁguration File

For the file name of the PXE configuration file, select one of the following options:

01-mac_address_of_target_ESXi_host. For example, 01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc

The target ESXi host IP address in hexadecimal notation.

default

The initial boot file, pxelinux.0 or gpxelinux.0, tries to load a PXE configuration file in the following order:

1 It tries with the MAC address of the target ESXi host, prefixed with its ARP type code, which is 01 for

Ethernet.

2 If that attempt fails, it tries with the hexadecimal notation of target ESXi system IP address.

3 Ultimately, it tries to load a file named default.

File Location for the PXE Conﬁguration File

Save the file in /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/ on the TFTP server.

For example, you might save the file on the TFTP server at /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/01-00-21-5a- ce-40-f6. The MAC address of the network adapter on the target ESXi host is 00-21-5a-ce-40-f6.

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PXE Boot Background Information

Understanding the PXE boot process can help you during troubleshooting.

TFTP Server

Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is similar to the FTP service, and is typically used only for network booting systems or loading firmware on network devices such as routers. TFTP is available on Linux and Windows.

Most Linux distributions include a copy of the tftp-hpa server. If you require a supported solution, purchase a supported TFTP server from your vendor of choice. You can also acquire a TFTP server from one of the packaged appliances on the VMware Marketplace.

If your TFTP server will run on a Microsoft Windows host, use tftpd32 version 2.11 or later. See

http://tftpd32.jounin.net/.

SYSLINUX, PXELINUX, and gPXELINUX

If you are using PXE in a legacy BIOS environment, you need to understand the different boot environments.

SYSLINUX is an open source boot environment for machines that run legacy BIOS firmware. The ESXi boot loader for BIOS systems, mbootc.32, runs as a SYSLINUX plugin. You can configure SYSLINUX to boot from several types of media, including disk, ISO image, and network. You can find the SYSLINUX package at http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/.

PXELINUX is a SYSXLINUX configuration for booting from a TFTP server according to the PXE standard. If you use PXELINUX to boot the ESXi installer, the pxelinux.0 binary file, mboot.c32, the configuration file, the kernel, and other files are all transferred by TFTP.

gPXELINUX is a hybrid configuration that includes both PXELINUX and gPXE and supports booting from a Web server. gPXELINUX is part of the SYSLINUX package. If you use gPXELINUX to boot the ESXi installer, only the gpxelinux.0 binary file, mboot.c32, and the configuration file are transferred via TFTP. The remaining files are transferred via HTTP. HTTP is typically faster and more reliable than TFTP, especially for transferring large amounts of data on a heavily loaded network.

Note VMware currently builds the mboot.c32 plugin to work with SYSLINUX version 3.86 and tests PXE

booting only with that version. Other versions are likely to be incompatible. This is not a statement of limited support. For support of third-party agents that you use to set up your PXE booting infrastructure, contact the vendor.

UEFI PXE and iPXE

Most UEFI firmware natively includes PXE support that allows booting from a TFTP server. The firmware can directly load the ESXi boot loader for UEFI systems, mboot.efi. Additional software such as PXELINUX is not required.

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iPXE can also be useful for UEFI systems that do not include PXE in firmware and for older UEFI systems with bugs in their PXE support. For such cases you can try installing iPXE on a USB flash drive and booting from there.

Note Apple Macintosh products do not include PXE boot support. They include support for network

booting via an Apple-specific protocol instead.

Alternative Approaches to PXE Booting

Alternative approaches to PXE booting different software on different hosts are also possible, for example:

Configuring the DHCP server to provide different initial boot loader filenames to different hosts depending on MAC address or other criteria. See your DCHP server's documentation.

Approaches using iPXE as the initial bootloader with an iPXE configuration file that selects the next bootloader based on the MAC address or other criteria.

Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE

You can install and boot ESXi from an FCoE LUN using VMware software FCoE adapters and network adapters with FCoE offload capabilities. Your host does not require a dedicated FCoE HBA.

See the vSphere Storage documentation for information about installing and booting ESXi with software FCoE.

Using Remote Management Applications

Remote management applications allow you to install ESXi on servers that are in remote locations.

Remote management applications supported for installation include HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO), Dell Remote Access Card (DRAC), IBM management module (MM), and Remote Supervisor Adapter II (RSA II). For a list of currently supported server models and remote management firmware versions, see

Supported Remote Management Server Models and Firmware Versions. For support on remote

management applications, contact the vendor.

You can use remote management applications to do both interactive and scripted installations of ESXi remotely.

If you use remote management applications to install ESXi, the virtual CD might encounter corruption problems with systems or networks operating at peak capacity. If a remote installation from an ISO image fails, complete the installation from the physical CD media.

Customizing Installations with vSphere ESXi Image Builder

You can use VMware vSphere® ESXi™ Image Builder CLI to create ESXi installation images with a customized set of updates, patches, and drivers.

You can use vSphere ESXi Image Builder with the vSphere Web Client or with PowerCLI to create an ESXi installation image with a customized set of ESXi updates and patches. You can also include thirdparty network or storage drivers that are released between vSphere releases.

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esxcli

ISO

ZIP

Depot

Image Profile

VIBVIB

Windows Client

Image Builder

PowerCLI

User-Created Image Profile

vSphere

Auto Deploy

vSphere

Update Manager

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

You can deploy an ESXi image created with vSphere ESXi Image Builder in either of the following ways:

By burning it to an installation DVD.

Through vCenter Server, using the Auto Deploy feature.

Understanding vSphere ESXi Image Builder

You can use the VMware vSphere® ESXi™ Image Builder CLI to manage software depots, image profiles, and software packages (VIBs). Image profiles and VIBs specify the software you want to use during installation or upgrade of an ESXi host.

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Overview

vSphere ESXi Image Builder lets you manage vSphere image profiles and VIBs.

VIBs are software packages, and image profiles contain a set of software packages. See Software

Depots and Their Components.

Figure 5‑2. Image Builder Architecture

You use vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets for managing the software to deploy to your ESXi hosts in several different situations.

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Table 5‑7. Cases Where You Can Use vSphere ESXi Image Builder

Use Case for vSphere ESXi Image Builder Description

Create image profiles for use by vSphere Auto Deploy Use vSphere ESXi Image Builder to create an image profile that

defines the VIBs that vSphere Auto Deploy uses to provision hosts.

Add custom third-party drivers to existing image profile and export to ISO or bundle

Perform upgrades If you upgrade from a 4.0 or 4.1 system that includes custom

Create custom images with reduced footprint If you require a minimal footprint image, you can clone the ESXi

When you add third-party driver or extension custom VIBs to your ESXi hosts, use vSphere ESXi Image Builder to clone the base image provided by VMware, add the custom VIBs, and export to ISO or to offline bundle ZIP file.

extensions or drivers, you can use vSphere ESXi Image Builder to create an image profile that includes the vSphere 5 base VIB. You can create vSphere 5 VIBs for the custom extensions and add those VIBs to the base VIB. Export the custom image profile to an ISO you can install or to a ZIP that you can use with vSphere Update Manager.

base image profile and remove VIBs using vSphere ESXi Image Builder.

The vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets take image profiles and VIBs as input and produce various outputs.

Table 5‑8. Input and Output to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets

Parameter Description

Input Image profiles and VIBs that are located in a software depot are

used as input to PowerCLI cmdlets running on a Windows client.

Output PowerCLI cmdlets create custom image profiles that can be

exported to an ISO image or an offline depot ZIP file. ISO images are used for installation. The ZIP depot can be used by Update Manager or by esxcli software commands to update or install images. Image profiles are also used in vSphere Auto Deploy rules to customize the software to provision ESXi hosts with.

Watch the video "Using Image Builder CLI" for information about vSphere ESXi Image Builder:

Using Image Builder CLI (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2296383276001?

bctid=ref:video_using_image_builder_cli)

Software Depots and Their Components

Understanding how depots, profiles, and VIBs are structured and where you can use them is a prerequisite for in-memory installation of a custom ESXi ISO, for provisioning ESXi hosts using vSphere Auto Deploy, and for certain custom upgrade operations.

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The following technical terms are used throughout the vSphere documentation set in discussions of installation and upgrade tasks.

VIB

A VIB is an ESXi software package. VMware and its partners package solutions, drivers, CIM providers, and applications that extend the ESXi platform as VIBs. VIBs are available in software depots. You can use VIBs to create and customize ISO images or to upgrade ESXi hosts by installing VIBs asynchronously onto the hosts.

See SoftwarePackage Object Properties.

Image Profile

An image profile defines an ESXi image and consists of VIBs. An image profile always includes a base VIB, and might include more VIBs. You examine and define an image profile by using vSphere ESXi Image Builder.

See ImageProfile Object Properties.

Software Depot

A software depot is a collection of VIBs and image profiles. The software depot is a hierarchy of files and folders and can be available through an HTTP URL (online depot) or a ZIP file (offline depot). VMware and VMware partners make depots available. Companies with large VMware installations might create internal depots to provision ESXi hosts with vSphere Auto Deploy, or to export an ISO for ESXi installation.

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets Overview

vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets allow you to manage image profiles and VIBs.

vSphere ESXi Image Builder includes the following cmdlets.

Note When you run vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets, provide all parameters on the command line

when you invoke the cmdlet. Supplying parameters in interactive mode is not recommended.

Run Get-Help cmdlet_name at the PowerCLI prompt for detailed reference information.

Table 5‑9. vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets

Cmdlet Description

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot

Remove-EsxSoftwareDepot

Get-EsxSoftwareDepot

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage

Get-EsxImageProfile

New-EsxImageProfile

Adds the software depot or ZIP file at the specified location to your current environment. Downloads metadata from the depot and analyzes VIBs for dependencies.

Disconnects from the specified software depot.

Returns a list of software depots that are in the current environment. If you want to examine and manage image profiles and VIBs, you must first add the corresponding software depot to your environment.

Returns a list of software package objects (VIBs). Use this cmdlet's options to filter the results.

Returns an array of ImageProfile objects from all currently added depots.

Creates a new image profile. In most cases, creating a new profile by cloning an existing profile is recommended. See Clone an Image Profile.

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Table 5‑9. vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets (Continued)

Cmdlet Description

Set-EsxImageProfile

Export-EsxImageProfile

Compare-EsxImageProfile

Remove-EsxImageProfile

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage

Remove-

EsxSoftwarePackage

Modifies a local ImageProfile object and performs validation tests on the modified profile. The cmdlet returns the modified object but does not persist it.

Exports an image profile as either an ESXi ISO image for ESXi installation, or as a ZIP file.

Returns an ImageProfileDiff structure that shows whether the two profiles have the same VIB list and acceptance level. See Acceptance Levels.

Removes the image profile from the software depot.

Adds one or more new packages (VIBs) to an existing image profile.

Removes one or more packages (VIBs) from an image profile.

Image Proﬁles

Image profiles define the set of VIBs that an ESXi installation or update process uses. Image profiles apply to hosts provisioned with vSphere Auto Deploy and to other ESXi 5.x hosts. You define and manipulate image profiles with vSphere ESXi Image Builder.

Image Proﬁle Requirements

You can create a custom image profile from scratch or clone an existing profile and add or remove VIBs. A profile must meet the following requirements to be valid.

Each image profile must have a unique name and vendor combination.

Each image profile has an acceptance level. When you add a VIB to an image profile with an vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlet, Image Builder checks that the VIB matches the acceptance level defined for the profile.

You cannot remove VIBs that are required by other VIBs.

You cannot include two versions of the same VIB in an image profile. When you add a new version of a VIB, the new version replaces the existing version of the VIB.

Image Proﬁle Validation

An image profile and its VIBs must meet several criteria to be valid.

Image profiles must contain at least one base VIB and one bootable kernel module.

If any VIB in the image profile depends on another VIB, that other VIB must also be included in the image profile. VIB creators store that information in the SoftwarePackage object's Depends property.

VIBs must not conflict with each other. VIB creators store conflict information in the SoftwarePackage object's Conflicts property.

Two VIBs with the same name, but two different versions, cannot coexist. When you add a new version of a VIB, the new version replaces the existing version of the VIB.

No acceptance level validation issues exist.

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When you make a change to an image profile, vSphere ESXi Image Builder checks that the change does not invalidate the profile.

Dependency Validation When you add or remove a VIB, vSphere ESXi Image Builder checks that

package dependencies are met. Each SoftwarePackage object includes a Depends property that specifies a list of other VIBs that VIB depends on. See Structure of ImageProfile, SoftwarePackage, and ImageProfileDiff

Objects

Acceptance Level

Validation

vSphere ESXi Image Builder performs acceptance level validation each time an image profile is created or changed. vSphere ESXi Image Builder checks the acceptance level of VIBs in the image profile against the minimum allowed acceptance level of the profile. The acceptance level of the VIB is also validated each time the signature of a VIB is validated.

VIB Validation During Export

When you export an image profile to an ISO, vSphere ESXi Image Builder validates each VIB by performing the following actions.

Checks that no conflicts exist by checking the Conflicts property of each SoftwarePackage object.

Performs VIB signature validation. Signature validation prevents unauthorized modification of VIB packages. The signature is a cryptographic checksum that guarantees that a VIB was produced by its author. Signature validation also happens during installation of VIBs on an ESXi host and when the vSphere Auto Deploy server uses VIBs.

Checks that VIBs follow file path usage rules. VMware tests VMwareCertified and VMwareAccepted VIBs to guarantee those VIBs always follow file path usage rules.

Acceptance Levels

Each VIB is released with an acceptance level that cannot be changed. The host acceptance level determines which VIBs can be installed to a host. You can change the host acceptance levels with esxcli commands.

VMware supports the following acceptance levels.

VMwareCertified The VMwareCertified acceptance level has the most stringent

requirements. VIBs with this level go through thorough testing fully equivalent to VMware in-house Quality Assurance testing for the same technology. Today, only I/O Vendor Program (IOVP) program drivers are published at this level. VMware takes support calls for VIBs with this acceptance level.

VMwareAccepted VIBs with this acceptance level go through verification testing, but the tests

do not fully test every function of the software. The partner runs the tests and VMware verifies the result. Today, CIM providers and PSA plug-ins are among the VIBs published at this level. VMware directs support calls for VIBs with this acceptance level to the partner's support organization.

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PartnerSupported VIBs with the PartnerSupported acceptance level are published by a

partner that VMware trusts. The partner performs all testing. VMware does not verify the results. This level is used for a new or nonmainstream technology that partners want to enable for VMware systems. Today, driver VIB technologies such as Infiniband, ATAoE, and SSD are at this level with nonstandard hardware drivers. VMware directs support calls for VIBs with this acceptance level to the partner's support organization.

CommunitySupported The CommunitySupported acceptance level is for VIBs created by

individuals or companies outside of VMware partner programs. VIBs at this level have not gone through any VMware-approved testing program and are not supported by VMware Technical Support or by a VMware partner.

Structure of ImageProﬁle, SoftwarePackage, and ImageProﬁleDi Objects

Knowing the structure of ImageProfile, SoftwarePackage, and ImageProfileDiff objects helps you manage deployment and upgrade processes.

ImageProﬁle Object Properties

The ImageProfile object, which is accessible with the Get-EsxImageProfile PowerCLI cmdlet, has the following properties.

Name Type Description

AcceptanceLevel AcceptanceLevel

Author System.String

CreationTime System.DateTime

Description System.String

GUID System.String

ModifiedTime System.DateTime

Name System.String

ReadOnly System.Boolean

Determines which VIBs you can add to the profile. Levels are VMwareCertified, VMwareAccepted, PartnerSupported, and CommunitySupported. See Acceptance

Levels.

The person who created the profile. 60 characters or fewer.

The timestamp of creation time.

The full text description of profile. No length limit.

Globally unique ID of the image profile.

The timestamp of last modification time.

The name of the image profile. 80 characters or fewer.

When set to true, the profile cannot be edited. Use Set-EsxImageProfile - Readonly to make your custom image profiles read-only.

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Name Type Description

Rules ImageProfileRule[]

Vendor System.String

VibList SoftwarePackage[]

Any OEM hardware requirements and restrictions that the image profile might have. vSphere Auto Deploy verifies the value of this property when deploying an image profile and deploys the profile if matching hardware is available.

The organization that publishes the profile. 40 characters or fewer.

The list of VIB IDs the image contains.

SoftwarePackage Object Properties

When preparing an image profile, you can examine software packages to decide which packages are suitable for inclusion. The SoftwarePackage object has the following properties.

Name Type Description

AcceptanceLevel AcceptanceLevel

Conflicts SoftwareConstraint[]

The acceptance level of this VIB.

A list of VIBs that cannot be installed at the same time as this VIB. Each constraint uses the following format:

package-name[<<|<=|=|>=|<<

version]

Depends SoftwareConstraint[]

Description System.String

Guid System.String

LiveInstallOk System.Boolean

LiveRemoveOk System.Boolean

MaintenanceMode System.Boolean

Name System.String

Provides SoftwareProvides

ReferenceURLs SupportReference[]

A list of VIBs that must be installed at the same time as this VIB. Same constraint format as Conflicts property.

The long description of the VIB.

The unique ID for the VIB.

True if live installs of this VIB are supported.

True if live removals of this VIB are supported.

True if hosts must be in maintenance mode for installation of this VIB.

The name of the VIB. Usually uniquely describes the package on a running ESXi system.

The list of virtual packages or interfaces this VIB provides. See SoftwareProvide

Object Properties.

The list of SupportReference objects with in-depth support information. The SupportReference object has two properties, Title and URL, both of type System.String.

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Name Type Description

Replaces SoftwareConstraint[]

ReleaseDate System.DateTime

SourceUrls System.String[]

StatelessReady System.Boolean

Summary System.String

Tags System.String[]

Vendor System.String

Version System.String

The list of SoftwareConstraint objects that identify VIBs that replace this VIB or make it obsolete. VIBs automatically replace VIBs with the same name but lower versions.

Date and time of VIB publication or release.

The list of source URLs from which this VIB can be downloaded.

True if the package supports host profiles or other technologies that make it suitable for use in conjunction with vSphere Auto Deploy.

A one-line summary of the VIB.

An array of string tags for this package defined by the vendor or publisher. Tags can be used to identify characteristics of a package.

The VIB vendor or publisher.

The VIB version.

VersionObject Software.Version

The VersionObject property is of type SoftwareVersion. The SoftwareVersion class implements a

static Compare method to compare two versions of strings. See SoftwareVersion

Object Properties

ImageProﬁleDi Object Properties

When you run the Compare-EsxImageProfile cmdlet, you pass in two parameters, first the reference profile, and then the comparison profile. The cmdlet returns an ImageProfileDiff object, which has the following properties.

Name Type Description

CompAcceptanceLevel System.String

DowngradeFromRef System.String[]

Equal System.Boolean

The acceptance level for the second profile that you passed to Compare- EsxImageProfile.

The list of VIBs in the second profile that are downgrades from VIBs in the first profile.

True if the two image profiles have identical packages and acceptance levels.

OnlyInComp System.String

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The list of VIBs found only in the second profile that you passed to Compare- EsxImageProfile.

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Name Type Description

OnlyInRef System.String[]

PackagesEqual System.Boolean

RefAcceptanceLevel System.String

UpgradeFromRef System.String[]

The list of VIBs found only in the first profile that you passed to Compare-

EsxImageProfile.

True if the image profiles have identical

sets of VIB packages.

The acceptance level for the first profile that you passed to Compare- EsxImageProfile.

The list of VIBs in the second profile that are upgrades from VIBs in the first profile.

SoftwareVersion Object Properties

The SoftwareVersion object lets you compare two version strings. The object includes a Comparestatic method that accepts two strings as input and returns 1 if the first version string is a higher number than the second version string. Compare returns 0 if two versions strings are equal. Compare returns -1 if the second version string is a higher number than the first string. The object has the following properties.

Name Type Description

Version System.String

The part of the version before the hyphen. This part indicates the primary version.

Release System.String

The part of the version after the hyphen. This part indicates the release version.

SoftwareConstraint Object Properties

The SoftwareConstraint object implements a MatchesProvide method. The method accepts a SoftwareProvides or SoftwarePackage object as input and returns True if the constraint matches the SoftwareProvide or the SoftwarePackage, or returns False otherwise.

The SoftwareConstraint object includes the following properties.

Name Type Description

Name System.String

Relation System.String

The name of the constraint. This name should match a corresponding SoftwareProvide Name property.

An enum, or one of the following comparison indicators: <<, <=, = >=, >>. This property can be $null if the constraint does not have a Relation and Version property.

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Name Type Description

Version System.String

VersionObject SoftwareVersion

The version to match the constraint against. This property can be $null if the constraint does not have a Relation and Version property.

The version represented by a SoftwareVersion object.

SoftwareProvide Object Properties

The SoftwareProvide object includes the following properties.

Name Type Description

Name System.String

Version System.String

Release System.String

The name of the provide.

The version of the provide. Can be $null if the provide does not specify a version.

The version of the provide as represented by a SoftwareVersion object. See

SoftwareVersion Object Properties.

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Installation and Usage

vSphere ESXi Image Builder consists of the vSphere ESXi Image Builder server and the vSphere ESXi Image Builder PowerShell cmdlets. The vSphere ESXi Image Builder server starts when your run the first vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlet.

Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and Prerequisite Software

Before you can run vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets, you must install PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. The vSphere ESXi Image Builder snap-in is included with the PowerCLI installation.

Prerequisites

If you want to manage vSphere ESXi Image Builder with PowerCLI cmdlets, verify that Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or 4.5.x and Windows PowerShell 3.0 or 4.0 are installed on a Microsoft Windows system. You can install PowerCLI on the Windows system on which vCenter Server is installed or on a different Windows system. See the vSphere PowerCLI User's Guide.

Procedure

1 Download the latest version of PowerCLI from the VMware Web site.

2 Navigate to the folder that contains the PowerCLI file you downloaded and double-click the

executable file.

If the installation wizard detects an earlier version of PowerCLI on your system, it will attempt to upgrade your existing installation

3 Follow the prompts in the wizard to complete the installation.

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What to do next

Review Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets.If you are new to PowerCLI, read the PowerCLI documentation.

Use vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets and other PowerCLI cmdlets and PowerShell cmdlets to manage image profiles and VIBs. Use Get-Help cmdlet_name at any time for command-line help.

Conﬁgure the vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type

Before you can use vSphere ESXi Image Builder with the vSphere Web Client, you must verify that the service is enabled and running.

Procedure

1 Log in to your vCenter Server system by using the vSphere Web Client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Administration.

3 Under System Configuration click Services.

4 Select ImageBuilder Service, click the Actions menu, and select Edit Startup Type.

On Windows, the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is disabled. In the Edit Startup Type window, select Manual or Automatic to enable Auto Deploy.

On the vCenter Server Appliance, the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service by default is set to Manual. If you want the service to start automatically upon OS startup, select Automatic.

If you select the manual startup type, you must start the service manually upon OS startup every time you want to use the service.

5 (Optional) Click the Start the service icon.

6 (Optional) If you want to use vSphere ESXi Image Builder with thevSphere Web Client, log out of the

vSphere Web Client and log in again.

The Auto Deploy icon is visible on the Home page of the vSphere Web Client.

What to do next

Add a Software Depot.

Import a Software Depot.

Clone an Image Profile.

Create an Image Profile.

Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets

vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets are implemented as Microsoft PowerShell cmdlets and included in PowerCLI. Users of vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets can take advantage of all PowerCLI features.

Experienced PowerShell users can use vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets just like other PowerShell cmdlets. If you are new to PowerShell and PowerCLI, follow these tips.

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You can type cmdlets, parameters, and parameter values in the PowerCLI shell.

Get help for any cmdlet by running Get-Help cmdlet_name.

Remember that PowerShell is not case sensitive.

Use tab completion for cmdlet names and parameter names.

Format any variable and cmdlet output by using Format-List or Format-Table or their short forms fl or ft. See Get-Help Format-List.

Use wildcards for searching and filtering VIBs and image profiles. All wildcard expressions are supported.

Passing Parameters by Name

You can pass in parameters by name in most cases and surround parameter values that contain spaces or special characters with double quotes.

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile profile42 -SoftwarePackage "partner package 35"

Passing Parameters as Objects

You can pass parameters as objects if you want to do scripting and automation. You can use the technique with cmdlets that return multiple objects or with cmdlets that return a single object.

1 Bind the output of a cmdlet that returns multiple objects to a variable.

$profs = Get-EsxImageProfile

2 When you run the cmdlet that needs the object as input, access the object by position, with the list

starting with 0.

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile $profs[4] -SoftwarePackage partner-pkg

The example adds the specified software package to the fifth image profile in the list returned by GetEsxImageProfile.

Most of the examples in the vCenter Server Installation and Setup documentation pass in parameters by name. vSphere ESXi Image Builder Workflows includes examples that pass parameters as objects.

Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder with the vSphere Web Client

You can manage software packages (VIBs), image profiles, and software depots by using the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service in the vSphere Web Client.

Add a Software Depot

Before you can work with software depots and customize image profiles, you must add one or more software depots to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. You can add a software depot by using the vSphere Web Client.

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Import a Software Depot

If an offline depot is located on your local file system, you can import the ZIP file to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory by using the vSphere Web Client.

Clone an Image Profile

You can use the vSphere Web Client to clone image profiles. You can clone an image profile when you want to make small changes to the VIB list in a profile, or if you want to use hosts from different vendors and want to use the same basic profile, but want to add vendor-specific VIBs.

Create an Image Profile

You can create a new image profile by using the vSphere Web Client instead of cloning an existing one. You might consider creating a new image profile if it differs significantly from the image profiles in your inventory.

Edit an Image Profile

You can edit image profiles by using the vSphere Web Client. You can change the name, details and VIB list of an image profile.

Compare Image Profiles

You can compare two image profiles by using the vSphere Web Client, for example, to see if they have the same VIB list, version, or acceptance level.

Move an Image Profile to a Different Software Depot

You can move image profiles between custom depots by using the vSphere Web Client. You can move an image profile to a custom depot to edit the image profile.

Export an Image Profile to ISO or Offline Bundle ZIP

You can export an image profile to an ISO image or a ZIP file by using the vSphere Web Client. You can use the ISO image as an ESXi installer or to upgrade hosts with vSphere Upgrade Manager. The ZIP file contains metadata and the VIBs of the image profile. You can use it for ESXi upgrades or as an offline depot.

Add a Software Depot

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the vSphere

ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, click the Add Software Depot icon.

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3 Select the type of depot that you want to create.

Option Action

Online Depot a Enter the name of the depot in the inventory.

b Enter the URL of the online depot.

Custom Depot Enter the name of the depot in the inventory.

4 Click OK.

What to do next

You can associate an image profile with a new vSphere Auto Deploy rule to provision ESXi hosts. See Create a Deploy Rule or Clone a Deploy Rule.

You can associate an image profile with an ESXi host. See Add a Host to the vSphere Auto Deploy

Inventory.

Edit the Image Profile Association of a Host.

Import a Software Depot

If an offline depot is located on your local file system, you can import the ZIP file to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory by using the vSphere Web Client.

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the vSphere

ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, click the Import Software Depot icon.

3 Enter the name of the software depot in the inventory.

4 Click Browse and select a ZIP file from the local system, that contains the software depot you want to

import.

5 Click Upload.

What to do next

You can associate an image profile with a new vSphere Auto Deploy rule to provision ESXi hosts. See Create a Deploy Rule or Clone a Deploy Rule.

You can associate an image profile with an ESXi host. See Add a Host to the vSphere Auto Deploy

Inventory.

Edit the Image Profile Association of a Host.

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Clone an Image Proﬁle

The acceptance level of the VIBs you add to the base image must be at least as high as the level of the base image. If you add a VIB with a lower acceptance level to the image profile, you must lower the image profile acceptance level. For more information, see Working with Acceptance Levels.

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Add or import a software depot to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. See Add a Software

Depot and Import a Software Depot.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, select the software depot that contains the image profile that you want

to work with.

3 From the list of image profiles in the depot, select the image profile that you want to clone and click

Clone.

4 Enter an image profile name, vendor, and description.

You must enter a unique image profile name.

5 From the Software depot drop-down list, select in which custom depot to add the new image profile

and click Next.

6 (Optional) From the drop-down list, select an acceptance level for the image profile.

7 From the Available tab, select the VIBs that you want to add to the image profile and deselect the

ones that you want to remove.

You can view the VIBs that will be added to the image profile from the Selected tab. You can filter the VIBs by software depot from the Software depot drop-down list on the Available tab.

Note The image profile must contain a bootable ESXi image to be valid.

8 Click Next.

vSphere ESXi Image Builder verifies that the change does not invalidate the profile. Some VIBs depend on other VIBs and become invalid if you include them in an image profile separately. When you add or remove a VIB, vSphere ESXi Image Builder checks whether the package dependencies are met.

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9 On the Ready to complete page, review the summary information for the new image profile and click

Finish.

What to do next

You can associate an image profile with a new vSphere Auto Deploy rule to provision ESXi hosts. See Create a Deploy Rule or Clone a Deploy Rule.

You can associate an image profile with an ESXi host. See Add a Host to the vSphere Auto Deploy

Inventory.

Edit the Image Profile Association of a Host.

Create an Image Proﬁle

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Add or import a software depot to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. See Add a Software

Depot and Import a Software Depot.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, select the custom depot in which you want to create a new image

profile.

3 On the Image Profiles tab, click New Image Profile.

4 Enter an image profile name, vendor, and description.

You must enter a unique image profile name.

5 From the Software depot drop-down list, select in which custom depot to add the new image profile

and click Next.

6 (Optional) From the drop-down list, select an acceptance level for the image profile.

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7 From the Available tab, select the VIBs that you want to add to the image profile and deselect the

ones that you want to remove.

You can view the VIBs that will be added to the image profile from the Selected tab. You can filter the VIBs by software depot from the Software depot drop-down list on the Available tab.

Note The image profile must contain a bootable ESXi image to be valid.

8 Click Next.

vSphere ESXi Image Builder verifies that the change does not invalidate the profile. Some VIBs are dependent on others and will not be valid if you include them in an image profile separately. When you add or remove a VIB, vSphere ESXi Image Builder checks that package dependencies are met.

9 On the Ready to complete page, review the summary information for the new image profile and click

Finish.

What to do next

You can associate an image profile with a new vSphere Auto Deploy rule to provision ESXi hosts. See Create a Deploy Rule or Clone a Deploy Rule.

You can associate an image profile with an ESXi host. See Add a Host to the vSphere Auto Deploy

Inventory.

Edit the Image Profile Association of a Host.

Edit an Image Proﬁle

You can edit image profiles by using the vSphere Web Client. You can change the name, details and VIB list of an image profile.

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Add or import a software depot to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. See Add a Software

Depot and Import a Software Depot.

Verify that there is at least one custom depot in the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, select the software depot that contains the image profile that you want

to work with.

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3 On the Image Profiles tab, select the image profile that you want to edit and click Edit.

4 (Optional) Change the name, vendor and description information of the image profile.

5 Click Next.

6 From the Available tab, select the VIBs that you want to add to the image profile and deselect the

ones that you want to remove.

You can view the VIBs that will be added to the image profile from the Selected tab. You can filter the VIBs by software depot from the Software depot drop-down list on the Available tab.

Note The image profile must contain a bootable ESXi image to be valid.

7 Click Next.

8 On the Ready to complete page, review the summary information for the edited image profile and

click Finish.

What to do next

You can associate an image profile with a new vSphere Auto Deploy rule to provision ESXi hosts. See Create a Deploy Rule or Clone a Deploy Rule.

You can associate an image profile with an ESXi host. See Add a Host to the vSphere Auto Deploy

Inventory.

Edit the Image Profile Association of a Host.

Compare Image Proﬁles

You can compare two image profiles by using the vSphere Web Client, for example, to see if they have the same VIB list, version, or acceptance level.

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Add or import a software depot to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. See Add a Software

Depot and Import a Software Depot.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, select the software depot that contains the image profile that you want

to work with.

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3 On the Image Profiles tab, select the image profile that you want to compare and click Compare To.

4 In the Compare Image Profile dialog box, from the Software Depot drop-down menu, select the

software depot that contains the second image profile that you want to compare.

5 From the Image Profile drop-down menu, select the second image profile that you want to compare.

6 Under Software Packages, on the All tab, view the comparison of the two image profiles.

The left side of the list displays the names, versions, acceptance levels, and vendors of the VIBs that the first chosen image profile contains. The right part of the list provides information about the second image profile. The VIBs marked with no change are the same in both profiles. VIBs that are present in only one of the image profiles are marked missing in the image profile that they are not present in.

Move an Image Proﬁle to a Dierent Software Depot

You can move image profiles between custom depots by using the vSphere Web Client. You can move an image profile to a custom depot to edit the image profile.

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

Add or import a software depot to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. See Add a Software

Depot and Import a Software Depot.

Verify that there is at least one custom depot in the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, select the software depot that contains the image profile that you want

to work with.

3 On the Image Profiles tab, select an image profile and click Move to.

4 From the drop-down list, select the custom depot in which you want to move the image profile.

5 Click OK.

Export an Image Proﬁle to ISO or Oine Bundle ZIP

Prerequisites

Verify that the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service is enabled and running. See Configure the

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Service Startup Type.

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Add or import a software depot to the vSphere ESXi Image Builder inventory. See Add a Software

Depot and Import a Software Depot.

Procedure

1 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click Auto Deploy.

By default, only the Administrator role has privileges to use the vSphere ESXi Image Builder service.

2 On the Software Depots tab, select the software depot that contains the image profile that you want

to work with.

3 On the Image Profiles tab, select the image profile that you want to export and click Export Image

Profile.

4 Select the type of the exported file.

Option Description

ISO Exports the image profile to a bootable ISO image. If you want to create an ISO

image that you can burn to a CD or DVD and use to boot up a stateless ESXi instance, select the Do not include an installer on the ISO check box.

ZIP Exports the image profile to a ZIP file.

5 (Optional) If you want to bypass the acceptance level verification of the image profile, select Skip

acceptance level checking.

6 Click the Generate image button.

7 When the image generates successfully, click Download to download the exported file.

8 Click Close.

Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder with PowerCLI Cmdlets

The vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets allow you to manipulate software depots, image profiles, and VIBs.

Clone an Image Proﬁle

Cloning a published profile is the easiest way to create a custom image profile. Cloning a profile is especially useful if you want to remove a few VIBs from a profile, or if you want to use hosts from different vendors and want to use the same basic profile, but want to add vendor-specific VIBs. VMware partners or large installations might consider creating a new profile.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See vSphere ESXi Image Builder Installation and

Usage.

Verify that you have access to the software depot that contains the image profile you want to clone.

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Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 (Optional) Run the Get-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to find the name of the profile that you want to

clone.

You can use filtering options with Get-EsxImageProfile.

3 Run the New-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to create the new profile and use the -CloneProfile

parameter to specify the profile you want to clone.

New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile My_Profile -Name "Test Profile 42"

This example clones the profile named My_Profile and assigns it the name Test Profile 42. You must specify a unique combination of name and vendor for the cloned profile.

What to do next

See Examine Depot Contents for some examples of filtering.

Customize the image profile by adding or removing VIBs. See Add VIBs to an Image Profile.

Add VIBs to an Image Proﬁle

You can add one or more VIBs to an image profile if that image profile is not set to read only. If the new VIB depends on other VIBs or conflicts with other VIBs in the profile, a message is displayed at the PowerShell prompt and the VIB is not added.

You can add VIBs from VMware or from VMware partners to an image profile. If you add VMware VIBs, vSphere ESXi Image Builder performs validation. If you add VIBs from two or more OEM partners simultaneously, no errors are reported but the resulting image profile might not work. Install VIBs from only one OEM vendor at a time.

If an error about acceptance level problems appears, change the acceptance level of the image profile and the acceptance level of the host. Consider carefully whether changing the host acceptance level is appropriate. VIB acceptance levels are set during VIB creation and cannot be changed.

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You can add VIBs even if the resulting image profile is invalid.

Note VMware can support only environments and configurations that are proven to be stable and fully

functional through rigorous and extensive testing. Use only those supported configurations. You can use custom VIBs if you lower your host acceptance level, and as a result, supportability. In that case, track the changes you made, so you can revert them if you want to remove custom VIBs and restore the host acceptance level to the default (Partner Supporter) later. See Working with Acceptance Levels.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 Run the Get-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to list all image profiles in all currently visible depots.

The cmdlet returns all available profiles. You can narrow your search by using the optional arguments to filter the output.

3 Clone the profile.

New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile My_Profile -Name "Test Profile 42" -Vendor "My Vendor"

Image profiles published by VMware and its partners are read only. To make changes, you must clone the image profile. The vendor parameter is required.

4 Run the Add-EsxSoftwarePackage cmdlet to add a new package to one of the image profiles.

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile My_Profile -SoftwarePackage partner-package

The cmdlet runs the standard validation tests on the image profile. If validation succeeds, the cmdlet returns a modified, validated image profile. If the VIB that you want to add depends on a different VIB, the cmdlet displays that information and includes the VIB that would resolve the dependency. If the acceptance level of the VIB that you want to add is lower than the image profile acceptance level, an error occurs.

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Export an Image Proﬁle to ISO or Oine Bundle ZIP

You can export an image profile to an ISO image or a ZIP file of component files and folders. You cannot create both by running the cmdlet once. You can use the ISO image as an ESXi installer or upload the ISO into vSphere Update Manager for upgrades. You can use the ZIP file, which contains metadata and the VIBs specified in the image profile, for upgrades to ESXi 5.0 and later.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 Run Export-EsxImageProfile to export the image profile.

Export Format Cmdlet

ISO images Export-EsxImageProfile with the -ExportToIso parameter

Offline depot ZIP files Export-EsxImageProfile with the -ExportToBundle parameter

For the ISO image, vSphere ESXi Image Builder validates VIB signatures, adds VIB binaries to the image, and downloads the image to the specified location. For the ZIP file, vSphere ESXi Image Builder validates VIB signatures and downloads the VIB binaries to the specified location.

Example: Exporting an Image Proﬁle

Follow these steps to export an image profile to an ISO image.

1 Add the software depot.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl url_or_file

2 View all available image profiles to find the name of the image profile to export.

Get-EsxImageProfile

3 Export the image profile.

Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "myprofile" -ExportToIso -FilePath iso_name

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Follow these steps to export an image profile to a ZIP file of component files and folders.

1 Add the software depot.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl url_or_file

2 View all available image profiles to find the name of the image profile to export.

Get-EsxImageProfile

3 Export the image profile.

Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "myprofile" -ExportToBundle -FilePath C:\my_bundle.zip

What to do next

Use the ISO image in an ESXi installation or upload the ISO image into vSphereUpdate Manager to perform upgrades.

Use the ZIP file to upgrade an ESXi installation.

Import the ZIP file into vSphere Update Manager for use with patch baselines.

Download the ZIP file to an ESXi host or a datastore and run esxcli software vib commands to import the VIBs in the ZIP file.

See the vSphere Upgrade documentation.

Preserve Image Proﬁles Across Sessions

When you create an image profile and exit the PowerCLI session, the image profile is no longer available when you start a new session. You can export the image profile to a ZIP file software depot, and add that depot in the next session.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, create an image profile, for example by cloning an existing image profile and

adding a VIB.

2 Export the image profile to a ZIP file by calling Export-EsxImageProfile with the ExportToBundle

parameter.

Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "my_profile" -ExportToBundle -FilePath

"C:\isos\temp-base-plus-vib25.zip"

3 Exit the PowerCLI session.

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4 When you start a new PowerCLI session, add the depot that contains your image profile to access it.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot "C:\isos\temp-base-plus-vib25.zip"

Compare Image Proﬁles

You can compare two image profiles by using the Compare-EsxImageProfile cmdlet, for example, to see if they have the same VIB list or acceptance level . Comparing image profiles or their properties is also possible by using the PowerShell comparison operators.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 (Optional) Run the Get-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to view a list of all image profiles in all available

depots.

In the list, you can locate the names of the image profiles you want to compare.

3 Before comparing the image profiles, assign them to variables.

For example, you can create variables $imageProfile1 and $imageProfile2 to hold the names of the compared images profiles.

$imageProfile1

= Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "ImageProfile1"

$imageProfile2

= Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "ImageProfile2"

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4 Compare the two image profiles by using the Compare-EsxImageProfile cmdlet or the -eq

comparison operator, which returns a Boolean value.

Compare the two image profiles to get a full description of the differences by using the CompareEsxImageProfile cmdlet.

Compare-EsxImageProfile -ReferenceProfile

$imageProfile1 -ComparisonProfile $imageProfile2

Compare the two image profiles by VIB list and acceptance level using the -eq comparison operator.

if ($imageProfile1 -eq $imageProfile2) {

Write-host "Successfully verified that both image profiles are equal."

} else {

Write-host "Failed to verify that the image profiles are equal."

}

Compare the two image profiles by a specific property using the -eq comparison operator.

if ($imageProfile1.vendor -eq $imageProfile2.vendor) {

Write-host "Successfully verified that both image profiles are equal."

} else {

Write-host "Failed to verify that the image profiles are equal."

}

Compare VIBs

You can compare two VIBs or their properties by using the PowerShell comparison operators.

Prerequisites

Install the PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 (Optional) Run the Get-EsxSoftwarePackage cmdlet to view all available VIBs.

In the list, you can locate the names of the VIBs you want to compare.

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3 Before comparing the VIBs, assign them to variables.

For example, you can create variables $vib1 and $vib2 to hold the names of the compared VIBs.

$vib1 = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Name "ReferenceVIB"

$vib2 = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Name "ComparisonVIB"

4 Use a comparison operator to compare the VIBs by contents and acceptance level or by a specific

property.

Compare the two VIBs by their contents and acceptance level.

if ($vib1 -eq $vib2) {

Write-host "Successfully verified that both VIBs are equal."

} else {

Write-host "Failed to verify that the VIBs are equal."

}

Compare a specific property of the VIBs by using a comparison operator such as -eq, -lt, -le, gt or -ge.

if ($vib1.VersionObject -lt $vib2.VersionObject) {

Write-host "Successfully verified that both the VIBs are equal."

} else {

Write-host "Failed to verify that the VIBs are equal."

}

Working with Acceptance Levels

Hosts, image profiles, and individual VIBs have acceptance levels. VIB acceptance levels show how the VIB was tested. Understanding what each acceptance level implies, how to change levels, and what a change implies is an important part of installation and update procedures.

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Acceptance levels are set for hosts, image profiles, and individual VIBs. The default acceptance level for an ESXi image or image profile is PartnerSupported.

Host acceptance levels The host acceptance level determines which VIBs you can install on a host.

You can change a host's acceptance level with ESXCLI commands. By default, ESXi hosts have an acceptance level of PartnerSupported to allow for easy updates with PartnerSupported VIBs.

Note VMware supports hosts at the PartnerSupported acceptance level.

For problems with individual VIBs with PartnerSupported acceptance level, contact your partner's support organization.

Image profile

acceptance levels

The image profile acceptance level is set to the lowest VIB acceptance level in the image profile. If you want to add a VIB with a low acceptance level to an image profile, you can change the image profile acceptance level with the Set-EsxImageProfile cmdlet. See Set the Image Profile

Acceptance Level.

The vSphere Update Manager does not display the actual acceptance level. Use vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets to retrieve the acceptance level information for VIBs and image profiles.

VIB acceptance levels A VIB's acceptance level is set when the VIB is created. Only the VIB

creator can set the acceptance level.

If you attempt to provision a host with an image profile or VIB that has a lower acceptance level than the host, an error occurs. Change the acceptance level of the host to install the image profile or VIB. See

Change the Host Acceptance Level. Changing the acceptance level of the host changes the support level

for that host.

The acceptance level of a host, image profile, or VIB lets you determine who tested the VIB and who supports the VIB. VMware supports the following acceptance levels .

VMwareCertified The VMwareCertified acceptance level has the most stringent

VMwareAccepted VIBs with this acceptance level go through verification testing, but the tests

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PartnerSupported VIBs with the PartnerSupported acceptance level are published by a

CommunitySupported The CommunitySupported acceptance level is for VIBs created by

Change the Host Acceptance Level

You can lower the host acceptance level to match the acceptance level for a VIB or image profile you want to install.

The acceptance level of each VIB on a host must be at least as high as the acceptance level of the host. For example, you cannot install a VIB with PartnerSupported acceptance level on a host with VMwareAccepted acceptance level. You must first lower the acceptance level of the host. For more information on acceptance levels, see Acceptance Levels.

Changing the host acceptance level to CommunitySupported affects the supportability of your host and

might affect the security of your host.

Prerequisites

Install vCLI or deploy the vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) virtual machine. See Getting Started with vSphere Command-Line Interfaces. For troubleshooting, run esxcli commands in the ESXi Shell.

Procedure

1 Retrieve the acceptance level for the VIB or image profile.

Option Description

View information for all VIBs

View information for a specified VIB

View information for all image profiles

View information for a specified image

profile

esxcli --server=server_name software sources vib list --depot=depot_URL

esxcli --server=server_name software sources vib list --viburl=vib_URL

esxcli --server=server_name software sources profile list --depot=depot_URL

esxcli --server=server_name software sources profile get --depot=depot_URL

--profile=profile_name

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2 View the host acceptance level.

esxcli --server=server_name software acceptance get

3 Change the acceptance level of the host.

esxcli

--server=server_name software acceptance set --level=acceptance_level

The value for acceptance_level can be VMwareCertified, VMwareAccepted, PartnerSupported, or CommunitySupported. The values for acceptance_level are case-sensitive.

Note If the host has a higher acceptance level than the VIB or image profile you want to add, you

can run commands in the esxcli software vib or esxcli software profile namespace with the --force option. When you use the --force option, a warning appears because you enforce a VIB or image profile with lower acceptance level than the acceptance level of the host and your setup is no longer consistent. The warning is repeated when you install VIBs, remove VIBs, or perform certain other operations on the host that has inconsistent acceptance levels.

Set the Image Proﬁle Acceptance Level

If you want to add a VIB to an image profile, and the acceptance level of the VIB is lower than that of the image profile, you can clone the image profile with a lower acceptance level or change the image profile's acceptance level.

You can specify VMwareCertified, VMwareAccepted, PartnerSupported, or CommunitySupported as an acceptance level of an image profile. If you lower the acceptance level, the level of support for the image profile and hosts that you provision with it changes. For more information, see Acceptance Levels.

Prerequisites

Install PowerCLI and all prerequisite software. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and Prerequisite

Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 Get the acceptance level for the image profile.

Get-EsxImageProfile -Name string

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3 Set the acceptance level of the image profile.

Set-EsxImageProfile -Name string -AcceptanceLevel level

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Workﬂows

vSphere ESXi Image Builder workflows are examples for cmdlet usage. Workflows do not represent actual tasks, but illustrate how you might explore different ways of using a cmdlet. Administrators trying out the workflows benefit from some experience with PowerCLI, Microsoft PowerShell, or both.

Examine Depot Contents

You can examine software depots and VIBs with vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets. You can use wildcards to examine depot contents. All wildcard expressions are supported.

The workflow itself passes parameters by name. However, you can pass parameters as objects by accessing variables.

You can use filtering options and wildcard expressions to examine depot contents.

Prerequisites

Verify that PowerCLI and prerequisite software is installed. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 Retrieve image profiles.

You can filter by vendor, name, and acceptance level.

Get-EsxImageProfiles

Returns an array of ImageProfile objects from all depots you added to the session.

Get-EsxImageProfile -Vendor "C*"

Returns all image profiles created by a vendor with a name that starts with the letter C.

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3 Retrieve software packages by using the Get-EsxSoftwarePackage cmdlet.

You can filter, for example by vendor or version, and you can use the standard PowerShell wildcard characters.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Vendor "V*"

Returns all software packages from a vendor with a name that starts with the letter V.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Vendor "V*" -Name "*scsi*"

Returns all software packages with a name that contains the string scsi in it from a vendor with a name that starts with the letter V.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Version "2.0*"

Returns all software packages with a version string that starts with 2.0.

4 Use -Newest to find the latest package.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Vendor "V*" -Newest

Returns the newest package for the vendors with a name that starts with the letter V, and displays the information as a table.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Vendor "V*" -Newest | format-list

Returns detailed information about each software package by using a pipeline to link the output of the request for software packages to the PowerShell format-list cmdlet.

5 View the list of VIBs in the image profile.

(Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "Robin's Profile").VibList

VibList is a property of the ImageProfile object.

6 Retrieve software packages released before or after a certain date by using the CreatedBefore or

CreatedAfter parameter.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -CreatedAfter 7/1/2010

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Example: Depot Content Examination Using Variables

This workflow example examines depot contents by passing in parameters as objects accessed by position in a variable, instead of passing in parameters by name. You can run the following commands in sequence from the PowerCLI prompt. Replace names with names that are appropriate in your installation.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Vendor "V*"

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Vendor "V*" -Name "r*"

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -Version "2.0*"

$ip1 = Get-EsxImageProfile -name ESX-5.0.0-123456-full

$ip1.VibList

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -CreatedAfter 7/1/2010

Create Image Proﬁles by Cloning Workﬂow

You can use vSphere ESXi Image Builder cmdlets to check which depots are available, to add a depot, to view image profile information, and to create a new image profile by cloning one of the available image profiles.

Published profiles are usually read-only and cannot be modified. Even if a published profile is not readonly, cloning instead of modifying the profile is a best practice, because modifying the original profile erases the original. You cannot revert to the original, unmodified profile except by reconnecting to a depot.

A profile cloning workflow might include checking the current state of the system, adding a software depot, and cloning the profile.

Prerequisites

Verify that PowerCLI and prerequisite software is installed. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

Procedure

1 In a PowerShell window, check whether any software depots are defined for the current session.

$DefaultSoftwareDepots

PowerShell returns the currently defined depots, or nothing if you just started PowerShell.

2 If the depot containing the profile that you want to clone does not appear in the results, add it to the

current session.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file path.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

PowerShell adds the specified depot to your current session and lists all current depots.

3 (Optional) Check the $DefaultSoftwareDepots variable, which now returns the newly added depot.

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4 View all available image profiles.

Get-EsxImageProfile

5 To clone an image profile, enter its name, a new name for the new profile, and a name of the vendor.

$ip = New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile base-tbd-v1 -Name "Test Profile 42" -Vendor "Vendor20"

6 (Optional) View the newly created image profile, $ip.

PowerShell returns the information about the image profile in tabular format.

Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level

---- ------ ------------- ----------------

Test Profile 42 Vendor20 9/15/2010 5:45:43... PartnerSupported

Example: Creating Image Proﬁle by Cloning Using Variables

This workflow example repeats the steps of this workflow by passing in parameters as objects accessed by position in a variable, instead of passing in parameters by name. You can run the following cmdlets in sequence from the PowerCLI prompt.

$DefaultSoftwareDepots

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url

$DefaultSoftwareDepots

$profs = Get-EsxImageProfile

$profs

$ip = New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile $profs[2] -Name "new_profile_name" -Vendor "my_vendor"

$ip

Create New Image Proﬁles Workﬂow

In most situations, you create an image profile by cloning an existing profile. Some VMware customers or partners might need to create a new image profile. Pay careful attention to dependencies and acceptance levels if you create an image profile from scratch.

The system expects that the acceptance level of the VIBs you add to the base image is at least as high as the level of the base image. If you have to add a VIB with a lower acceptance level to the image profile, you must lower the image profile acceptance level. For more information, see Set the Image

Profile Acceptance Level.

As an alternative to specifying the parameters on the command line, you can use the PowerShell prompting mechanism to specify string parameters. Prompting does not work for other parameters such as objects.

Prerequisites

PowerCLI and prerequisite software is installed. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

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You have access to a depot that includes a base image and one or more VIBs. VMware and VMware partners have public depots, accessible by a URL. VMware or VMware partners can create a ZIP file that you can unzip to your local environment and access by using a file path.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 Run the Get-EsxImageProfile cmdlet to list all image profiles in all currently visible depots. You can

narrow your search by using the optional arguments to filter the output.

Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -CreatedAfter 7/1/2010

3 Create a new profile, assign it a name and vendor, and add a base package.

New-EsxImageProfile -NewProfile -Name "Test #2" -vendor "Vendor42" -SoftwarePackage esx-

base[0],esx-xlibs[0]

The example uses the esx-base package. In most cases, you include the esx-base package when you create a new image profile. Names that contain spaces are surrounded by quotes.

4 Use a pipeline to pass the new image profile to format-list for detailed information about the new

package.

(Get-EsxImageProfile -Name "Test #2").VibList | format-list

Example: Creating Image Proﬁles from Scratch Using Variables

This command sequence repeats the steps of the workflow, but passes parameters as objects, accessed by position in a variable, instead of passing parameters by name. You can run the following commands in sequence at thePowerCLI prompt.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot depoturl

$pkgs = Get-EsxSoftwarePackage -CreatedAfter 7/1/2010

$ip2 = New-EsxImageProfile -NewProfile -Name "Test #2" -vendor "Vendor42" -SoftwarePackage $pkgs[0]

$ip2.VibList | format-list

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Edit Image Proﬁles Workﬂow

You can create a custom image by cloning and editing an image profile by using PowerCLI. You can add or remove one or more VIBs in the existing profile. If adding or removing VIBs prevents the image profile from working correctly, an error occurs.

Prerequisites

PowerCLI and prerequisite software is installed. See Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and

Prerequisite Software.

You have access to a depot that includes a base image and one or more VIBs. VMware and VMware partners make public depots, accessible by a URL, available. VMware or VMware partners can create a ZIP file that you can download to your local environment and access by using a file path.

Procedure

1 In a PowerCLI session, run the Add-EsxSoftwareDepot cmdlet for each depot you want to work

with.

Option Action

Remote depot Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url.

ZIP file a Download the ZIP file to a local file system.

b Run Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl C:\file_path\offline-

bundle.zip

The cmdlet returns one or more SoftwareDepot objects.

2 Use a pipeline to pass the image profile you intend to edit to format-list to see detailed

information.

In this example, the image profile created in Create New Image Profiles Workflow contains only the base image. A newly created image profile is not included in the depot. Instead, you access the image profile by name or by binding it to a variable.

Get-EsxImageProfile "Test #2" | format-list

PowerShell returns the information.

Name : Test #2

Vendor : Vendor42

...

VibList : {esx-base 5.0.0.-...,}

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3 (Optional) If you are adding a VIB with a lower acceptance level than that of the image profile, change

the acceptance level of the image profile.

Set-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "Test #2" -AcceptanceLevel VMwareAccepted

PowerShell returns the information about the changed profile in tabular format.

Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level

---- ------ ------------- ----------------

Test #2 Vendor42 9/22/2010 12:05:... VMwareAccepted

4 Add a software package (VIB) to the image profile. You can add the package by name.

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "Test #2"

-SoftwarePackage NewPack3

PowerShell returns the information about the image profile in tabular format.

Name Vendor Last Modified Acceptance Level

---- ------ ------------- ----------------

Test #2 Vendor42 9/22/2010 12:05:... VMwareAccepted

Note If an error occurs when you add the software package, you might have a problem with

acceptance levels, see Working with Acceptance Levels

5 View the image profile again.

Get-EsxImageProfile "Test #2" | format-list

The VIB list is updated to include the new software package and the information is displayed.

Name : Test #2

Vendor : Vendor42

...

VibList : {esx-base 5.0.0.-..., NewPack3}

Example: Editing Image Proﬁles by Using Variables

This cmdlet sequence repeats the steps of the workflow but passes parameters as objects, accessed by position in a variable, instead of passing parameters by name. You can run the following cmdlets in sequence from the PowerCLI prompt.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot -DepotUrl depot_url

$ip2 = Get-EsxImageProfile -name "Test #2"

$ip2 | format-list

Set-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile $ip2 -AcceptanceLevel VMwareAccepted

Add-EsxImageSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile $ip2 -SoftwarePackage NewPack3

$ip2 | format-list

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Required Information for ESXi Installation

In an interactive installation, the system prompts you for the required system information. In a scripted installation, you must supply this information in the installation script.

For future use, note the values you use during the installation. These notes are useful if you must reinstall ESXi and reenter the values that you originally chose.

Table 5‑10. Required Information for ESXi Installation

Required or

Information

Keyboard layout Required U.S. English

VLAN ID Optional None Range: 0 through 4094

IP address Optional DHCP You can allow DHCP to configure the network

Subnet mask Optional Calculated based on the IP

Gateway Optional Based on the configured IP

Optional Default Comments

during installation. After installation, you can

address

address and subnet mask

change the network settings.

Primary DNS Optional Based on the configured IP

address and subnet mask

Secondary DNS Optional None

Host name Required for

static IP settings

Install location Required None Must be at least 5 GB if you install the components

Migrate existing ESXi settings. Preserve existing VMFS datastore.

Root password Required None The root password must contain between 8 and 40

Required if you are installing ESXi on a drive with an existing ESXi installation.

None The vSphere Web Client can use either the host

name or the IP address to access the ESXi host.

on a single disk.

None If you have an existing ESXi 5.x installation, the

ESXi installer offers a choice between preserving or overwriting the VMFS datastore during installation

characters. For information about passwords see the vSphere Security documentation.

Installing ESXi

You can install ESXi interactively, with a scripted installation, or with vSphere Auto Deploy.

Installing ESXi Interactively

Use the interactive installation option for small deployments of fewer than five hosts.

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In a typical interactive installation, you boot the ESXi installer and respond to the installer prompts to install ESXi to the local host disk. The installer reformats and partitions the target disk and installs the ESXi boot image. If you have not installed ESXi on the target disk before, all data on the drive is overwritten, including hardware vendor partitions, operating system partitions, and associated data.

Note To ensure that you do not lose any data, migrate the data to another machine before you install

ESXi.

If you are installing ESXi on a disk that contains a previous installation of ESXi or ESX, or a VMFS datastore, the installer provides you with options for upgrading. See the vSphere Upgrade documentation.

Install ESXi Interactively

You use the ESXi CD/DVD or a USB flash drive to install the ESXi software onto a SAS, SATA, SCSI hard drive, or USB drive.

Prerequisites

You must have the ESXi installer ISO in one of the following locations:

On CD or DVD. If you do not have the installation CD/DVD, you can create one. See Download

and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD

On a USB flash drive. See Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade.

Note You can also PXE boot the ESXi installer to run an interactive installation or a scripted

installation. See PXE Booting the ESXi Installer.

Verify that the server hardware clock is set to UTC. This setting is in the system BIOS.

Verify that a keyboard and monitor are attached to the machine on which the ESXi software is installed. Alternatively, use a remote management application. See Using Remote Management

Applications.

Consider disconnecting your network storage. This action decreases the time it takes the installer to search for available disk drives. When you disconnect network storage, any files on the disconnected disks are unavailable at installation.

Do not disconnect a LUN that contains an existing ESX or ESXi installation. Do not disconnect a VMFS datastore that contains the Service Console of an existing ESX installation. These actions can affect the outcome of the installation.

Gather the information required by the ESXi installation wizard. See Required Information for ESXi

Installation.

Verify that ESXi Embedded is not present on the host machine. ESXi Installable and ESXi Embedded cannot exist on the same host.

Procedure

1 Insert the ESXi installer CD/DVD into the CD/DVD-ROM drive, or attach the Installer USB flash drive

and restart the machine.

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2 Set the BIOS to boot from the CD-ROM device or the USB flash drive.

See your hardware vendor documentation for information on changing boot order.

3 On the Select a Disk page, select the drive on which to install ESXi, and press Enter.

Press F1 for information about the selected disk.

Note Do not rely on the disk order in the list to select a disk. The disk order is determined by the

BIOS and might be out of order. This might occur on systems where drives are continuously being added and removed.

If you select a disk that contains data, the Confirm Disk Selection page appears.

If you are installing on a disc with a previous ESXi or ESX installation or VMFS datastore, the installer provides several choices.

Important If you are upgrading or migrating an existing ESXi installation, see the VMware ESXi

Upgrade documentation.

If you select a disk that is in vSAN disk group, the resulting installation depends on the type of disk and the group size:

If you select an SSD, the SSD and all underlying HDDs in the same disk group are wiped.

If you select an HDD, and the disk group size is greater than two, only the selected HDD is wiped.

If you select an HDD disk, and the disk group size is two or less, the SSD and the selected HDD is wiped.

For more information about managing vSAN disk groups, see the vSphere Storage documentation.

4 Select the keyboard type for the host.

You can change the keyboard type after installation in the direct console.

5 Enter the root password for the host.

You can change the password after installation in the direct console.

6 Press Enter to start the installation.

7 When the installation is complete, remove the installation CD, DVD, or USB flash drive.

8 Press Enter to reboot the host.

If you are performing a new installation, or you chose to overwrite an existing VMFS datastore, during the reboot operation, VFAT scratch, and VMFS partitions are created on the host disk.

9 Set the first boot device to be the drive on which you installed ESXi in Step 3.

For information about changing boot order, see your hardware vendor documentation.

Note UEFI systems might require additional steps to set the boot device. See Host Fails to Boot

After You Install ESXi in UEFI Mode

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After the installation is complete, you can migrate existing VMFS data to the ESXi host.

You can boot a single machine from each ESXi image. Booting multiple devices from a single shared ESXi image is not supported.

What to do next

Set up basic administration and network configuration for ESXi. See After You Install and Set Up ESXi.

Install ESXi on a Software iSCSI Disk

When you install ESXi to a software iSCSI disk, you must configure the target iSCSI qualified name (IQN).

During system boot, the system performs a Power-On Self Test (POST), and begins booting the adapters in the order specified in the system BIOS. When the boot order comes to the iSCSI Boot Firmware Table (iBFT) adapter, the adapter attempts to connect to the target, but does not boot from it. See Prerequisites.

If the connection to the iSCSI target is successful, the iSCSI boot firmware saves the iSCSI boot configuration in the iBFT. The next adapter to boot must be the ESXi installation media, either a mounted ISO image or a physical CD-ROM.

Prerequisites

Verify that the target IQN is configured in the iBFT BIOS target parameter setting. This setting is in the option ROM of the network interface card (NIC) to be used for the iSCSI LUN. See the vendor documentation for your system.

Disable the iBFT adapter option to boot to the iSCSI target. This action is necessary to make sure that the ESXi installer boots, rather than the iSCSI target. When you start your system, follow the prompt to log in to your iBFT adapter and disable the option to boot to the iSCSI target. See the vendor documentation for your system and iBFT adapter. After you finish the ESXi installation, you can reenable the option to boot from the LUN you install ESXi on.

Procedure

1 Start an interactive installation from the ESXi installation CD/DVD or mounted ISO image.

2 On the Select a Disk screen, select the iSCSI target you specified in the iBFT BIOS target parameter

setting.

If the target does not appear in this menu, make sure that the TCP/IP and initiator iSCSI IQN settings are correct. Check the network Access Control List (ACL) and confirm that the adapter has adequate permissions to access the target.

3 Follow the prompts to complete the installation.

4 Reboot the host.

5 In the host BIOS settings, enter the iBFT adapter BIOS configuration, and change the adapter

parameter to boot from the iSCSI target.

See the vendor documentation for your system.

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What to do next

On your iBFT adapter, reenable the option to boot to the iSCSI target, so the system will boot from the LUN you installed ESXi on.

Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script

You can quickly deploy ESXi hosts by using scripted, unattended installations or upgrades. Scripted installations or upgrades provide an efficient way to deploy multiple hosts.

The installation or upgrade script contains the installation settings for ESXi. You can apply the script to all hosts that you want to have a similar configuration.

For a scripted installation or upgrade, you must use the supported commands to create a script. You can edit the script to change settings that are unique for each host.

The installation or upgrade script can reside in one of the following locations:

FTP server

HTTP/HTTPS server

NFS server

USB flash drive

CD-ROM drive

Approaches for Scripted Installation

You can install ESXi on multiple machines using a single script for all of them or a separate script for each machine.

For example, because disk names vary from machine to machine, one of the settings that you might want to configure in a script is the selection for the disk to install ESXi on.

Table 5‑11. Scripted Installation Choices

Option Action

Always install on the first disk on multiple machines. Create one script.

Install ESXi on a different disk for each machine. Create multiple scripts.

For information about the commands required to specify the disk to install on, see Installation and

Upgrade Script Commands.

Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script

You can start an installation or upgrade script by typing boot options at the ESXi installer boot command line.

At boot time you might need to specify options to access the kickstart file. You can enter boot options by pressing Shift+O in the boot loader. For a PXE boot installation, you can pass options through the kernelopts line of the boot.cfg file. See About the boot.cfg File and PXE Booting the ESXi Installer.

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To specify the location of the installation script, set the ks=filepath option, where filepath is indicates the location of your Kickstart file. Otherwise, a scripted installation or upgrade cannot start. If ks=filepath is omitted, the text installer is run.

Supported boot options are listed in Boot Options.

Procedure

1 Start the host.

2 When the ESXi installer window appears, press Shift+O to edit boot options.

3 At the runweasel command prompt, type

ks=location of installation script plus boot command-line options.

Example: Boot Option

You type the following boot options:

ks=http://00.00.00.00/kickstart/ks-osdc-pdp101.cfg nameserver=00.00.0.0 ip=00.00.00.000

netmask=255.255.255.0 gateway=00.00.00.000

Boot Options

When you perform a scripted installation, you might need to specify options at boot time to access the kickstart file.

Supported Boot Options

Table 5‑12. Boot Options for ESXi Installation

Boot Option Description

BOOTIF=hwtype-MAC address

gateway=ip address

Similar to the netdevice option, except in the PXELINUX format as described in the IPAPPEND option under SYSLINUX at the syslinux.zytor.com site.

Sets this network gateway as the default gateway to be used for downloading the installation script and installation media.

ip=ip address

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Sets up a static IP address to be used for downloading the installation script and the installation media. Note: the PXELINUX format for this option is also supported. See the IPAPPEND option under SYSLINUX at the syslinux.zytor.com site.

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Table 5‑12. Boot Options for ESXi Installation (Continued)

Boot Option Description

ks=cdrom:/path

ks=file://path

ks=protocol://serverpath

ks=usb

ks=usb:/path

Performs a scripted installation with the script at path, which resides on the CD in the CD-ROM drive. Each CDROM is mounted and checked until the file that matches the path is found.

Important If you have created an installer ISO image with a

custom installation or upgrade script, you must use uppercase characters to provide the path of the script, for example, ks=cdrom:/KS_CUST.CFG.

Performs a scripted installation with the script at path.

Performs a scripted installation with a script located on the network at the given URL. protocol can be http, https, ftp, or

nfs. An example using nfs protocol is ks=nfs://host/porturl-path. The format of an NFS URL is

specified in RFC 2224.

Performs a scripted installation, accessing the script from an attached USB drive. Searches for a file named ks.cfg. The file must be located in the root directory of the drive. If multiple USB flash drives are attached, they are searched until the ks.cfg file is found. Only FAT16 and FAT32 file systems are supported.

Performs a scripted installation with the script file at the specified path, which resides on USB.

ksdevice=device

nameserver=ip address

netdevice=device

netmask=subnet mask

vlanid=vlanid

Tries to use a network adapter device when looking for an installation script and installation media. Specify as a MAC address, for example, 00:50:56:C0:00:01. This location can also be a vmnicNN name. If not specified and files need to be retrieved over the network, the installer defaults to the first discovered network adapter that is plugged in.

Specifies a domain name server to be used for downloading the installation script and installation media.

Specifies subnet mask for the network interface that downloads the installation script and the installation media.

Configure the network card to be on the specified VLAN.

About Installation and Upgrade Scripts

The installation/upgrade script is a text file, for example ks.cfg, that contains supported commands.

The command section of the script contains the ESXi installation options. This section is required and must appear first in the script.

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About the Default ks.cfg Installation Script

The ESXi installer includes a default installation script that performs a standard installation to the first detected disk.

The default ks.cfg installation script is located in the initial RAM disk at /etc/vmware/weasel/ks.cfg. You can specify the location of the default ks.cfg file with the ks=file://etc/vmware/weasel/ks.cfg boot option. See Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script.

When you install ESXi using the ks.cfg script, the default root password is myp@ssw0rd.

You cannot modify the default script on the installation media. After the installation, you can use the vSphere Web Client to log in to the vCenter Server that manages the ESXi host and modify the default settings.

The default script contains the following commands:

# Sample scripted installation file

# Accept the VMware End User License Agreement

vmaccepteula

# Set the root password for the DCUI and Tech Support Mode

rootpw myp@ssw0rd

# Install on the first local disk available on machine

install --firstdisk --overwritevmfs

# Set the network to DHCP on the first network adapter

network --bootproto=dhcp --device=vmnic0

# A sample post-install script

%post --interpreter=python --ignorefailure=true

import time

stampFile = open('/finished.stamp', mode='w')

stampFile.write( time.asctime() )

Locations Supported for Installation or Upgrade Scripts

In scripted installations and upgrades, the ESXi installer can access the installation or upgrade script, also called the kickstart file, from several locations.

The following locations are supported for the installation or upgrade script:

CD/DVD. See Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script.

USB Flash drive. See Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade

Script.

A network location accessible through the following protocols: NFS, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP

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Path to the Installation or Upgrade Script

You can specify the path to an installation or upgrade script.

ks=http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/kickstart/KS.CFG is the path to the ESXi installation script, where XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is the IP address of the machine where the script resides. See About Installation and

Upgrade Scripts.

To start an installation script from an interactive installation, you enter the ks= option manually. See Enter

Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script.

Installation and Upgrade Script Commands

To modify the default installation or upgrade script or to create your own script, use supported commands. Use supported commands in the installation script, which you specify with a boot command when you boot the installer.

To determine which disk to install or upgrade ESXi on, the installation script requires one of the following commands: install, upgrade, or installorupgrade. The install command creates the default partitions, including a VMFS datastore that occupies all available space after the other partitions are created.

accepteula or vmaccepteula (required)

Accepts the ESXi license agreement.

clearpart (optional)

Clears any existing partitions on the disk. Requires the install command to be specified. Carefully edit the clearpart command in your existing scripts.

--drives=

--alldrives

Remove partitions on the specified drives.

Ignores the --drives= requirement and allows clearing of partitions on every drive.

--ignoredrives=

Removes partitions on all drives except those specified. Required unless the --drives= or --alldrives flag is specified.

--overwritevmfs

Allows overwriting of VMFS partitions on the specified drives. By default, overwriting VMFS partitions is not allowed.

--firstdisk=

disk-type1

[disk-type2,...]

Partitions the first eligible disk found. By default, the eligible disks are set to the following order:

1 Locally attached storage (local)

2 Network storage (remote)

3 USB disks (usb)

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You can change the order of the disks by using a comma-separated list appended to the argument. If you provide a filter list, the default settings are overridden. You can combine filters to specify a particular disk, including esx for the first disk with ESXi installed on it, model and vendor information, or the name of the VMkernel device driver. For example, to prefer a disk with the model name ST3120814A and any disk that uses the mptsas driver rather than a normal local disk, the argument is

--firstdisk=ST3120814A,mptsas,local. You can use localesx for local storage that contains ESXi image or remoteesx for remote storage that contains ESXi image.

dryrun (optional)

Parses and checks the installation script. Does not perform the installation.

install

Specifies that this is a fresh installation. Replaces the deprecated autopart command used for ESXi 4.1 scripted installations. Either the install, upgrade, or installorupgrade command is required to determine which disk to install or upgrade ESXi on.

--disk= or --drive=

--firstdisk=

disk-type1,

[disk-type2,...]

Specifies the disk to partition. In the command --disk=diskname, the diskname can be in any of the forms shown in the following examples:

Path: --disk=/vmfs/devices/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0

MPX name: --disk=mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0

VML name: --disk=vml.000000034211234

vmkLUN UID: --disk=vmkLUN_UID

For accepted disk name formats, see Disk Device Names.

Partitions the first eligible disk found. By default, the eligible disks are set to the following order:

1 Locally attached storage (local)

2 Network storage (remote)

3 USB disks (usb)

You can change the order of the disks by using a comma-separated list appended to the argument. If you provide a filter list, the default settings are overridden. You can combine filters to specify a particular disk, including esx for the first disk with ESX installed on it, model and vendor information, or the name of the vmkernel device driver. For example, to prefer a disk with the model name ST3120814A and any disk that uses the mptsas

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driver rather than a normal local disk, the argument is

--firstdisk=ST3120814A,mptsas,local. You can use localesx for local storage that contains ESXi image or remoteesx for remote storage that contains ESXi image.

--ignoressd

--overwritevsan

Excludes solid-state disks from eligibility for partitioning. This option can be used with the install command and the --firstdisk option. This option takes precedence over the --firstdisk option. This option is invalid with the --drive or --disk options and with the upgrade and installorupgrade commands. See the vSphere Storage documentation for more information about preventing SSD formatting during autopartitioning.

You must use the --overwritevsan option when you install ESXi on a disk, either SSD or HDD (magnetic), that is in a vSAN disk group. If you use this option and no vSAN partition is on the selected disk, the installation will fail. When you install ESXi on a disk that is in vSAN disk group, the result depends on the disk that you select:

If you select an SSD, the SSD and all underlying HDDs in the same disk group will be wiped.

If you select an HDD, and the disk group size is greater than two, only the selected HDD will be wiped.

If you select an HDD disk, and the disk group size is two or less, the SSD and the selected HDD will be wiped.

For more information about managing vSAN disk groups, see the vSphere Storage documentation.

--overwritevmfs

Required to overwrite an existing VMFS datastore on the disk before installation.

--preservevmfs

--novmfsondisk

Preserves an existing VMFS datastore on the disk during installation.

Prevents a VMFS partition from being created on this disk. Must be used with --overwritevmfs if a VMFS partition already exists on the disk.

installorupgrade

Either the install, upgrade, or installorupgrade command is required to determine which disk to install or upgrade ESXi on.

--disk= or --drive=

Specifies the disk to partition. In the command --disk=diskname, the diskname can be in any of the forms shown in the following examples:

Path: --disk=/vmfs/devices/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0

MPX name: --disk=mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0

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VML name: --disk=vml.000000034211234

vmkLUN UID: --disk=vmkLUN_UID

For accepted disk name formats, see Disk Device Names.

--firstdisk=

disk-type1,

[disk-type2,...]

--overwritevsan

Partitions the first eligible disk found. By default, the eligible disks are set to the following order:

1 Locally attached storage (local)

2 Network storage (remote)

3 USB disks (usb)

You can change the order of the disks by using a comma-separated list appended to the argument. If you provide a filter list, the default settings are overridden. You can combine filters to specify a particular disk, including esx for the first disk with ESX installed on it, model and vendor information, or the name of the vmkernel device driver. For example, to prefer a disk with the model name ST3120814A and any disk that uses the mptsas driver rather than a normal local disk, the argument is

--firstdisk=ST3120814A,mptsas,local. You can use localesx for local storage that contains ESXi image or remoteesx for remote storage that contains ESXi image.

You must use the --overwritevsan option when you install ESXi on a disk, either SSD or HDD (magnetic), that is in a vSAN disk group. If you use this option and no vSAN partition is on the selected disk, the installation will fail. When you install ESXi on a disk that is in a vSAN disk group, the result depends on the disk that you select:

If you select an SSD, the SSD and all underlying HDDs in the same disk group will be wiped.

If you select an HDD, and the disk group size is greater than two, only the selected HDD will be wiped.

If you select an HDD disk, and the disk group size is two or less, the SSD and the selected HDD will be wiped.

For more information about managing vSAN disk groups, see the vSphere Storage documentation.

--overwritevmfs

Install ESXi if a VMFS partition exists on the disk, but no ESX or ESXi installation exists. Unless this option is present, the installer will fail if a VMFS partition exists on the disk, but no ESX or ESXi installation exists.

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keyboard (optional)

Sets the keyboard type for the system.

keyboardType

Specifies the keyboard map for the selected keyboard type. keyboardType must be one of the following types.

Belgian

Brazilian

Croatian

Czechoslovakian

Danish

Estonian

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Icelandic

Italian

Japanese

Latin American

Norwegian

Polish

Portuguese

Russian

Slovenian

Spanish

Swedish

Swiss French

Swiss German

Turkish

Ukrainian

United Kingdom

US Default

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US Dvorak

serialnum or vmserialnum (optional)

Deprecated in ESXi 5.0.x. Supported in ESXi 5.1 and later. Configures licensing. If not included, ESXi installs in evaluation mode.

--esx=<license-key>

Specifies the vSphere license key to use. The format is 5 five-character groups (XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX).

network (optional)

Specifies a network address for the system.

--bootproto=[dhcp|static]

Specifies whether to obtain the network settings from DHCP or set them manually.

--device=

Specifies either the MAC address of the network card or the device name, in the form vmnicNN, as in vmnic0. This options refers to the uplink device for the virtual switch.

--ip=

Sets an IP address for the machine to be installed, in the form xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. Required with the --bootproto=static option and ignored otherwise.

--gateway=

Designates the default gateway as an IP address, in the form xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. Used with the --bootproto=static option.

--nameserver=

Designates the primary name server as an IP address. Used with the -bootproto=static option. Omit this option if you do not intend to use

DNS.

The --nameserver option can accept two IP addresses. For example: --

nameserver="10.126.87.104[,10.126.87.120]"

--netmask=

Specifies the subnet mask for the installed system, in the form

255.xxx.xxx.xxx. Used with the --bootproto=static option.

--hostname=

--vlanid= vlanid

Specifies the host name for the installed system.

Specifies which VLAN the system is on. Used with either the

--bootproto=dhcp or --bootproto=static option. Set to an integer from 1 to 4096.

--addvmportgroup=(0|1)

Specifies whether to add the VM Network port group, which is used by virtual machines. The default value is 1.

paranoid (optional)

Causes warning messages to interrupt the installation. If you omit this command, warning messages are logged.

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part or partition (optional)

Creates an additional VMFS datastore on the system. Only one datastore per disk can be created. Cannot be used on the same disk as the install command. Only one partition can be specified per disk and it can only be a VMFS partition.

datastore name

--ondisk= or --ondrive=

--firstdisk=

disk-type1,

[disk-type2,...]

Specifies where the partition is to be mounted.

Specifies the disk or drive where the partition is created.

Partitions the first eligible disk found. By default, the eligible disks are set to the following order:

1 Locally attached storage (local)

2 Network storage (remote)

3 USB disks (usb)

You can change the order of the disks by using a comma-separated list appended to the argument. If you provide a filter list, the default settings are overridden. You can combine filters to specify a particular disk, including esx for the first disk with ESX installed on it, model and vendor information, or the name of the vmkernel device driver. For example, to prefer a disk with the model name ST3120814A and any disk that uses the mptsas driver rather than a normal local disk, the argument is

--firstdisk=ST3120814A,mptsas,local. You can use localesx for local storage that contains ESXi image or remoteesx for remote storage that contains ESXi image.

reboot (optional)

Reboots the machine after the scripted installation is complete.

<--noeject>

The CD is not ejected after the installation.

rootpw (required)

Sets the root password for the system.

--iscrypted

password

Specifies that the password is encrypted.

Specifies the password value.

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upgrade

Either the install, upgrade, or installorupgrade command is required to determine which disk to install or upgrade ESXi on.

--disk= or --drive=

--firstdisk=

disk-type1,

[disk-type2,...]

Specifies the disk to partition. In the command --disk=diskname, the diskname can be in any of the forms shown in the following examples:

Path: --disk=/vmfs/devices/disks/mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0

MPX name: --disk=mpx.vmhba1:C0:T0:L0

VML name: --disk=vml.000000034211234

vmkLUN UID:--disk=vmkLUN_UID

For accepted disk name formats, see Disk Device Names.

Partitions the first eligible disk found. By default, the eligible disks are set to the following order:

1 Locally attached storage (local)

2 Network storage (remote)

3 USB disks (usb)

You can change the order of the disks by using a comma-separated list appended to the argument. If you provide a filter list, the default settings are overridden. You can combine filters to specify a particular disk, including esx for the first disk with ESX installed on it, model and vendor information, or the name of the vmkernel device driver. For example, to prefer a disk with the model name ST3120814A and any disk that uses the mptsas driver rather than a normal local disk, the argument is

--firstdisk=ST3120814A,mptsas,local. You can use localesx for local storage that contains ESXi image or remoteesx for remote storage that contains ESXi image.

%include or include (optional)

Specifies another installation script to parse. This command is treated similarly to a multiline command, but takes only one argument.

filename

For example: %include part.cfg

%pre (optional)

Specifies a script to run before the kickstart configuration is evaluated. For example, you can use it to generate files for the kickstart file to include.

--interpreter

=[python|busybox]

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Specifies an interpreter to use. The default is busybox.

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%post (optional)

Runs the specified script after package installation is complete. If you specify multiple %post sections, they run in the order that they appear in the installation script.

--interpreter

=[python|busybox]

--timeout=secs

Specifies an interpreter to use. The default is busybox.

Specifies a timeout for running the script. If the script is not finished when the timeout expires, the script is forcefully terminated.

--ignorefailure

=[true|false]

If true, the installation is considered a success even if the %post script terminated with an error.

%ﬁrstboot

Creates an init script that runs only during the first boot. The script has no effect on subsequent boots. If multiple %firstboot sections are specified, they run in the order that they appear in the kickstart file.

Note You cannot check the semantics of %firstboot scripts until the system is booting for the first time.

A %firstboot script might contain potentially catastrophic errors that are not exposed until after the installation is complete.

--interpreter

=[python|busybox]

Specifies an interpreter to use. The default is busybox.

Note You cannot check the semantics of the %firstboot script until the system boots for the first time.

If the script contains errors, they are not exposed until after the installation is complete.

Disk Device Names

The install, upgrade, and installorupgrade installation script commands require the use of disk device names.

Table 5‑13. Disk Device Names

Format Example Description

VML vml.00025261 The device name as reported by the

VMkernel

MPX mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0 The device name

About the boot.cfg File

The boot loader configuration file boot.cfg specifies the kernel, the kernel options, and the boot modules that the mboot.c32 or mboot.efi boot loader uses in an ESXi installation.

The boot.cfg file is provided in the ESXi installer. You can modify the kernelopt line of the boot.cfg file to specify the location of an installation script or to pass other boot options.

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The boot.cfg file has the following syntax:

# boot.cfg -- mboot configuration file

# Any line preceded with '#' is a comment.

title=STRING

prefix=DIRPATH

kernel=FILEPATH

kernelopt=STRING

modules=FILEPATH1 --- FILEPATH2... --- FILEPATHn

# Any other line must remain unchanged.

The commands in boot.cfg configure the boot loader.

Table 5‑14. Commands in boot.cfg .

Command Description

title=STRING

prefix=STRING

kernel=FILEPATH

kernelopt=STRING

modules=FILEPATH1 --- FILEPATH2... --- FILEPATHn

Sets the boot loader title to STRING.

(Optional) AddsDIRPATH/ in front of every FILEPATH in the kernel= and modules= commands that do not already start with / or with http://.

Sets the kernel path to FILEPATH.

Appends STRING to the kernel boot options.

Lists the modules to be loaded, separated by three hyphens (---).

See Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script and PXE Booting the

ESXi Installer.

Install or Upgrade ESXi from a CD or DVD by Using a Script

You can install or upgrade ESXi from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive by using a script that specifies the installation or upgrade options.

You can start the installation or upgrade script by entering a boot option when you start the host. You can also create an installer ISO image that includes the installation script. With an installer ISO image, you can perform a scripted, unattended installation when you boot the resulting installer ISO image. See

Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script.

Prerequisites

Before you run the scripted installation or upgrade, verify that the following prerequisites are met:

The system on which you are installing or upgrading meets the hardware requirements. See ESXi

Hardware Requirements.

You have the ESXi installer ISO on an installation CD or DVD . See Download and Burn the ESXi

Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD.

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The default installation or upgrade script (ks.cfg) or a custom installation or upgrade script is accessible to the system. See About Installation and Upgrade Scripts.

You have selected a boot command to run the scripted installation or upgrade. See Enter Boot

Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script. For a complete list of boot commands, see Boot Options.

Procedure

1 Boot the ESXi installer from the local CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

2 When the ESXi installer window appears, press Shift+O to edit boot options.

3 Type a boot option that calls the default installation or upgrade script or an installation or upgrade

script file that you created.

The boot option has the form ks=.

4 Press Enter.

The installation, upgrade, or migration runs, using the options that you specified.

Install or Upgrade ESXi from a USB Flash Drive by Using a Script

You can install or upgrade ESXi from a USB flash drive by using a script that specifies the installation or upgrade options.

Supported boot options are listed in Boot Options.

Prerequisites

Before running the scripted installation or upgrade, verify that the following prerequisites are met:

The system that you are installing or upgrading to ESXi meets the hardware requirements for the installation or upgrade. See ESXi Hardware Requirements.

You have the ESXi installer ISO on a bootable USB flash drive. See Format a USB Flash Drive to

Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade.

The default installation or upgrade script (ks.cfg) or a custom installation or upgrade script is accessible to the system. See About Installation and Upgrade Scripts.

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You have selected a boot option to run the scripted installation, upgrade, or migration. See Enter Boot

Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script.

Procedure

1 Boot the ESXi installer from the USB flash drive.

2 When the ESXi installer window appears, press Shift+O to edit boot options.

3 Type a boot option that calls the default installation or upgrade script or an installation or upgrade

script file that you created.

The boot option has the form ks=.

4 Press Enter.

The installation, upgrade, or migration runs, using the options that you specified.

Performing a Scripted Installation or Upgrade of ESXi by Using PXE to Boot the Installer

ESXi 6.7 provides many options for using PXE to boot the installer and using an installation or upgrade script.

For information about setting up a PXE infrastructure, see PXE Booting the ESXi Installer.

For information about creating and locating an installation script, see About Installation and Upgrade

Scripts.

For specific procedures to use PXE to boot the ESXi installer and use an installation script, see one of the following topics:

PXE Boot the ESXi Installer Using a Web Server

PXE Boot the ESXi Installer Using TFTP

For information about using vSphere Auto Deploy to perform a scripted installation by using PXE to boot, see Installing ESXi Using vSphere Auto Deploy.

PXE Booting the ESXi Installer

You can use the preboot execution environment (PXE) to boot a host. Starting with vSphere 6.0, you can PXE boot the ESXi installer from a network interface on hosts with legacy BIOS or using UEFI.

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ESXi is distributed in an ISO format that is designed to install to flash memory or to a local hard drive. You can extract the files and boot by using PXE.

PXE uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) to boot an operating system over a network.

PXE booting requires some network infrastructure and a machine with a PXE-capable network adapter. Most machines that can run ESXi have network adapters that can PXE boot.

Note PXE booting with legacy BIOS firmware is possible only over IPv4. PXE booting with UEFI

firmware is possible with either IPv4 or IPv6.

Overview of the PXE Boot Installation Process

Some of the details of the PXE boot process vary depending on whether the target host is using legacy BIOS or UEFI firmware, and whether the boot process uses TFTP only or TFTP plus HTTP.

When you boot the target host, it interacts with the different servers in the environment to get the network adapter, boot loader, kernel, IP address for the kernel, and finally the installation script. When all components are in place, installation starts, as shown in the following illustration.

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ESXi target host

DHCP server

TFTP server

Web server or TFTP server

DHCP server

script depot

ESXi host

Installer

starts

TCP

ks.cfg

Give me an

installation script

UDP

Give me an IP

for the kernel

TCP or UDP

kernel

Give me

the kernel

UDP

mboot and supporting files

Give me the

network boot loader

UDP

IP & TFTP server

Give me an

IP for the

network adapter

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

Figure 5‑3. Overview of PXE Boot Installation Process

The interaction between the ESXi host and other servers proceeds as follows:

1 The user boots the target ESXi host.

2 The target ESXi host makes a DHCP request.

3 The DHCP server responds with the IP information and the location of the TFTP server.

4 The ESXi host contacts the TFTP server and requests the file that the DHCP server specified.

5 The TFTP server sends the network boot loader, and the ESXi host executes it. The initial boot loader

might load additional boot loader components from the TFTP server.

6 The boot loader searches for a configuration file on the TFTP server, downloads the kernel and other

ESXi components from the HTTP server or the TFTP server and boots the kernel on the ESXi host.

7 The installer runs interactively or using a kickstart script, as specified in the configuration file.

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PXE Boot the ESXi Installer Using TFTP

You can use a TFTP server to PXE boot the ESXi installer. The process differs slightly depending on whether you use UEFI or boot from a legacy BIOS. Because most environments include ESXi hosts that support UEFI boot and hosts that support only legacy BIOS, this topic discusses prerequisites and steps for both types of hosts.

For legacy BIOS machines, the procedure supports booting multiple different versions of the ESXi installer by using the same pxelinux.0 or gpxelinux.0 initial boot loader for all target machines, but potentially different PXELINUX configuration files depending on the target machine's MAC address.

For UEFI machines, the procedure supports booting multiple different versions of the ESXi installer by using the same mboot.efi initial boot loader for all target machines, but potentially different boot.cfg files depending on the target machine's MAC address.

Prerequisites

Verify that your environment meets the following prerequisites.

ESXi installer ISO image, downloaded from the VMware Web site.

Target host with a hardware configuration that is supported for your version of ESXi. See the VMware Compatibility Guide.

Network adapter with PXE support on the target ESXi host.

DHCP server configured for PXE booting. See Sample DHCP Configurations.

TFTP server.

Network security policies to allow TFTP traffic (UDP port 69).

For legacy BIOS, you can use only IPv4 networking. For UEFI PXE boot, you can use IPv4 or IPv6 networking.

(Optional) Installation script (kickstart file).

Use a native VLAN in most cases. If you want to specify the VLAN ID to be used with PXE booting, check that your NIC supports VLAN ID specification.

For legacy BIOS systems, version 3.86 of the SYSLINUX package, available from

https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/.

Procedure

1 Configure the DHCP server for TFTP boot.

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2 (Legacy BIOS only) Obtain and configure PXELINUX:

a Obtain SYSLINUX version 3.86, unpack it, and copy the pxelinux.0 file to the top-

level /tftpboot directory on your TFTP server.

b Create a PXELINUX configuration file using the following code model.

ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX is the name of the TFTP subdirectory that contains the ESXi installer files.

DEFAULT install

NOHALT 1

LABEL install

KERNEL ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX/mboot.c32

APPEND -c ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX/boot.cfg

IPAPPEND 2

c Save the PXELINUX file in the /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg directory on your TFTP server with a

filename that will determine whether all hosts boot this installer by default:

Option Description

Same installer Name the file default if you want for all host to boot this ESXi installer by

default.

Different installers Name the file with the MAC address of the target host machine (01-

mac_address_of_target_ESXi_host) if you want only a specific host to boot with this file, for example, 01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc.

3 (UEFI only) Copy the file efi/boot/bootx64.efi from the ESXi installer ISO image

to /tftpboot/mboot.efi on your TFTP server.

Note Newer versions of mboot.efi can generally boot older versions of ESXi, but older versions of

mboot.efi might be unable to boot newer versions of ESXi. If you plan to configure different hosts to boot different versions of the ESXi installer, use the mboot.efi from the newest version.

4 Create a subdirectory of your TFTP server's top-level /tftpboot directory and name it after the

version of ESXi it will hold, for example, /tftpboot/ESXi-6.x.x-xxxxx.

5 Copy the contents of the ESXi installer image to the directory you just created.

6 Modify the boot.cfg file

a Add the following line:

prefix=ESXi-6.x.x-xxxxxx

Here, ESXi-6.x.x-xxxxxx is the pathname of the installer files relative to the TFTP server's root directory.

b If the filenames in the kernel= and modules= lines begin with a forward slash (/) character,

delete that character.

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7 (Optional) For a scripted installation, in the boot.cfg file, add the kernelopt option to the line after

the kernel command, to specify the location of the installation script.

Use the following code as a model, where XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is the IP address of the server where the installation script resides, and esxi_ksFiles is the directory that contains the ks.cfg file.

kernelopt=ks=http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/esxi_ksFiles/ks.cfg

8 (UEFI only) Specify whether you want for all UEFI hosts to boot the same installer.

Option Description

Same installer Copy or link the boot.cfg file to /tftpboot/boot.cfg

Different installers a Create a subdirectory of /tftpboot named after the MAC address of the

target host machine (01-mac_address_of_target_ESXi_host), for example, 01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc.

b Place a copy of (or a link to) the host's boot.cfg file in that directory, for

example, /tftpboot/01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc/boot.cfg.

PXE Boot the ESXi Installer Using a Web Server

You can use a Web server to PXE boot the ESXi installer. Because most environments include ESXi hosts that support UEFI boot and hosts that support only legacy BIOS, this topic discusses prerequisites and steps for both types of hosts.

Prerequisites

Verify that your environment has the following components:

ESXi installer ISO image, downloaded from the VMware Web site.

Target host with a hardware configuration that is supported for your version of ESXi. See the VMware Compatibility Guide.

Network adapter with PXE support on the target ESXi host.

DHCP server configured for PXE booting. See Sample DHCP Configurations.

TFTP server.

Network security policies to allow TFTP traffic (UDP port 69).

For legacy BIOS, you can use only IPv4 networking. For UEFI PXE boot, you can use IPv4 or IPv6 networking.

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(Optional) Installation script (kickstart file).

Use a native VLAN in most cases. If you want to specify the VLAN ID to be used with PXE booting, check that your NIC supports VLAN ID specification.

Verify that your environment also meets the following prerequisites required for PXE boot using a Web Server:

Verify that the HTTP Web server is accessible by your target ESXi hosts.

(UEFI) Obtain iPXE, available at http://ipxe.org.

(Legacy BIOS) Obtain version 3.86 of the SYSLINUX package, available from

https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/.

Procedure

1 Configure the DHCP server for HTTP boot.

2 (UEFI only) Obtain and configure iPXE:

a Obtain the iPXE source code, as described at http://ipxe.org/download.

b Follow the instructions on that page, but use the following make command:

make bin-x86_64-efi/snponly.efi

c Copy the resulting file snponly.efi to /tftpboot directory on your TFTP server.

3 (UEFI only) Copy the file efi/boot/bootx64.efi from the ESXi installer ISO image

to /tftpboot/mboot.efi on your TFTP server.

Note Newer versions of mboot.efi can generally boot older versions of ESXi, but older versions of

mboot.efi might be unable to boot newer versions of ESXi. If you plan to configure different hosts to

boot different versions of the ESXi installer, use the mboot.efi from the newest version.

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4 (Legacy BIOS only) Obtain and configure PXELINUX:

a Obtain SYSLINUX version 3.86, unpack it, and copy the gpxelinux.0 file to the top-

level /tftpboot directory on your TFTP server.

b Create a PXELINUX configuration file using the following code model.

ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX is the name of the TFTP subdirectory that contains the ESXi installer files.

DEFAULT install

NOHALT 1

LABEL install

KERNEL ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX/mboot.c32

APPEND -c ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX/boot.cfg

IPAPPEND 2

c Save the PXELINUX file in the /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg directory on your TFTP server with a

filename that will determine whether all hosts boot this installer by default:

Option Description

Same installer Name the file default if you want for all host to boot this ESXi installer by

default.

Different installers Name the file with the MAC address of the target host machine (01-

mac_address_of_target_ESXi_host) if you want only a specific host to boot with this file, for example, 01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc.

5 Create a directory on your HTTP server named for the version of ESXi it will hold, for

example, /var/www/html/ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX.

6 Copy the contents of the ESXi installer image to the directory you just created.

7 Modify the boot.cfg file

a Add the following line:

prefix=http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX

where http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/ESXi-6.x.x-XXXXXX is the location of the installer files on the HTTP server.

b If the filenames in the kernel= and modules= lines begin with a forward slash (/) character,

delete that character.

8 (Optional) For a scripted installation, in the boot.cfg file, add the kernelopt option to the line after

the kernel command, to specify the location of the installation script.

Use the following code as a model, where XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is the IP address of the server where the installation script resides, and esxi_ksFiles is the directory that contains the ks.cfg file.

kernelopt=ks=http://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/esxi_ksFiles/ks.cfg

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9 (UEFI only) Specify whether you want for all UEFI hosts to boot the same installer.

Option Description

Same installer Copy or link the boot.cfg file to /tftpboot/boot.cfg

Different installers a Create a subdirectory of /tftpboot named after the MAC address of the

target host machine (01-mac_address_of_target_ESXi_host), for example, 01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc.

b Place a copy of (or a link to) the host's boot.cfg file in that directory, for

example, /tftpboot/01-23-45-67-89-0a-bc/boot.cfg.

Installing ESXi Using vSphere Auto Deploy

vSphere Auto Deploy lets you provision hundreds of physical hosts with ESXi software.

Using Auto Deploy, experienced system administrators can manage large deployments efficiently. Hosts are network-booted from a central Auto Deploy server. Optionally, hosts are configured with a host profile of a reference host. The host profile can be set up to prompt the user for input. After boot up and configuration complete, the hosts are managed by vCenter Server just like other ESXi hosts.

Auto Deploy can also be used for stateless caching or stateful installs.

Important Auto Deploy requires a secure separation between the production network and the

management or deployment networks as discussed in vSphere Auto Deploy Security Considerations. Using Auto Deploy without this separation is insecure.

Stateless caching By default, Auto Deploy does not store ESXi configuration or state on the

host disk. Instead, an image profile defines the image that the host is provisioned with, and other host attributes are managed through host profiles. A host that uses Auto Deploy for stateless caching still needs to connect to the Auto Deploy server and the vCenter Server.

Stateful installs You can provision a host with Auto Deploy and set up the host to store the

image to disk. On subsequent boots, the host boots from disk.

Understanding vSphere Auto Deploy

Introduction to vSphere Auto Deploy

When you start a physical host that is set up for vSphere Auto Deploy, vSphere Auto Deploy uses PXE boot infrastructure in conjunction with vSphere host profiles to provision and customize that host. No state is stored on the host itself. Instead, the vSphere Auto Deploy server manages state information for each host.

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State Information for ESXi Hosts

vSphere Auto Deploy stores the information for the ESXi hosts to be provisioned in different locations. Information about the location of image profiles and host profiles is initially specified in the rules that map machines to image profiles and host profiles.

Table 5‑15. vSphere Auto Deploy Stores Information for Deployment

Information Type Description Source of Information

Image state The executable software to run on an ESXi host. Image profile, created with vSphere ESXi Image

Builder.

Configuration state The configurable settings that determine how the

host is configured, for example, virtual switches and their settings, driver settings, boot parameters, and so on.

Dynamic state The runtime state that is generated by the running

software, for example, generated private keys or runtime databases.

Virtual machine state

User input State that is based on user input, for example, an IP

The virtual machines stored on a host and virtual machine autostart information (subsequent boots only).

address that the user provides when the system starts up, cannot automatically be included in the host profile.

vSphere Auto Deploy Architecture

Host profile, created by using the host profile UI. Often comes from a template host.

Host memory, lost during reboot.

Virtual machine information sent by vCenter Server to vSphere Auto Deploy must be available to supply virtual machine information to vSphere Auto Deploy.

Host customization information, stored by vCenter Server during first boot.

You can create a host profile that requires user input for certain values.

When vSphere Auto Deploy applies a host profile that requires user provided information, the host is placed in maintenance mode. Use the host profile UI to check the host profile compliance, and respond to the prompt to customize the host.

The vSphere Auto Deploy infrastructure consists of several components.

For more information, watch the video "Auto Deploy Architecture":

Auto Deploy Architecture (http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2296383276001?

bctid=ref:video_auto_deploy_architecture)

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HTTP fetch of images/VIBs and host profiles (iPXE boot and update)

Host profile

Host profiles and

host customization

Host profile

engine

ESXi host

Plug-in

VIBs and

image profiles

Public depot

Fetch of predefined image

profiles and VIBs

Auto Deploy

PowerCLI

Image

Profiles

Rules Engine

Image Builder

PowerCLI

Auto Deploy

server

(Web server)

VMware ESXi Installation and Setup

Figure 5‑4. vSphere Auto Deploy Architecture

vSphere Auto Deploy

server

vSphere Auto Deploy

rules engine

Image profiles Define the set of VIBs to boot ESXi hosts with.

Serves images and host profiles to ESXi hosts.

Sends information to the vSphere Auto Deploy server which image profile and which host profile to serve to which host. Administrators use vSphere Auto Deploy to define the rules that assign image profiles and host profiles to hosts. For more information on vSphere Auto Deploy rules and rule sets, see Rules and Rule Sets.

VMware and VMware partners make image profiles and VIBs available in public depots. Use vSphere ESXi Image Builder to examine the depot and use the vSphere Auto Deploy rules engine to specify which image profile to assign to which host.

VMware customers can create a custom image profile based on the public image profiles and VIBs in the depot and apply that image profile to the host. See Customizing Installations with vSphere ESXi Image

Builder.

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Host profiles Define machine-specific configuration such as networking or storage setup.

Use the host profile UI to create host profiles. You can create a host profile for a reference host and apply that host profile to other hosts in your environment for a consistent configuration. For more information, see the vSphere Host Profiles documentation or the Setting Up a vSphere Auto

Deploy Reference Host section.

Host customization Stores information that the user provides when host profiles are applied to

the host. Host customization might contain an IP address or other information that the user supplied for that host. For more information about host customizations, see the vSphere Host Profiles documentation.

Host customization was called answer file in earlier releases of vSphere Auto Deploy.

Rules and Rule Sets

You specify the behavior of the vSphere Auto Deploy server by using a set of rules. The vSphere Auto Deploy rules engine checks the rule set for matching host patterns to decide which items (image profile, host profile, vCenter Server location, or script object) to provision each host with.

The rules engine maps software and configuration settings to hosts based on the attributes of the host. For example, you can deploy image profiles or host profiles to two clusters of hosts by writing two rules, each matching on the network address of one cluster.

For hosts that have not yet been added to a vCenter Server system, the vSphere Auto Deploy server checks with the rules engine before serving image profiles, host profiles, and inventory location information to hosts. For hosts that are managed by a vCenter Server system, the image profile, host profile, and inventory location that vCenter Server has stored in the host object is used. If you make changes to rules, you can use the vSphere Web Client or vSphere Auto Deploy cmdlets in a PowerCLI session to test and repair rule compliance. When you repair rule compliance for a host, that host's image profile and host profile assignments are updated.

The rules engine includes rules and rule sets.

Rules Rules can assign image profiles and host profiles to a set of hosts, or

specify the location (folder or cluster) of a host on the target vCenter Server system. A rule can identify target hosts by boot MAC address, SMBIOS information, BIOS UUID, Vendor, Model, or fixed DHCP IP address. In most cases, rules apply to multiple hosts. You create rules by using the vSphere Web Client or vSphere Auto Deploy cmdlets in a PowerCLI session. After you create a rule, you must add it to a rule set. Only two rule sets, the active rule set and the working rule set, are supported. A rule can belong to both sets, the default, or only to the working rule set. After you add a rule to a rule set, you can no longer change the rule. Instead, you copy the rule and replace items or patterns in the copy. If you are managing vSphere Auto Deploy with the vSphere Web Client, you can edit a rule if it is in inactive state.

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VMware ESXI - 6.7 Installation Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Installing and Setting Up ESXi 5

ESXi Requirements

ESXi Hardware Requirements

Supported Remote Management Server Models and Firmware Versions

Recommendations for Enhanced ESXi Performance

Incoming and Outgoing Firewall Ports for ESXi Hosts

Required Free Space for System Logging

VMware Host Client System Requirements

ESXi Passwords and Account Lockout

Preparing for Installing ESXi

Download the ESXi Installer

Options for Installing ESXi

Interactive ESXi Installation

Scripted ESXi Installation

vSphere Auto Deploy ESXi Installation

Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer

Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD

Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade

Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script

Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script

PXE Booting the ESXi Installer

PXE Boot Background Information

Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE

Using Remote Management Applications

Customizing Installations with vSphere ESXi Image Builder

Understanding vSphere ESXi Image Builder

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Overview

Software Depots and Their Components

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets Overview

Acceptance Levels

vSphere ESXi Image Builder Installation and Usage

Install vSphere ESXi Image Builder and Prerequisite Software

Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder Cmdlets

Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder with the vSphere Web Client

Add a Software Depot

Import a Software Depot

Using vSphere ESXi Image Builder with PowerCLI Cmdlets

Customize the image profile by adding or removing VIBs. See Add VIBs to an Image Profile.

Compare VIBs

Working with Acceptance Levels

Change the Host Acceptance Level

Examine Depot Contents

Required Information for ESXi Installation

Installing ESXi

Installing ESXi Interactively

Install ESXi Interactively

Install ESXi on a Software iSCSI Disk

Installing or Upgrading Hosts by Using a Script

Approaches for Scripted Installation

Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script

Boot Options

About Installation and Upgrade Scripts

About the Default ks.cfg Installation Script

Path to the Installation or Upgrade Script

Installation and Upgrade Script Commands

Disk Device Names

About the boot.cfg File

Install or Upgrade ESXi from a CD or DVD by Using a Script

Install or Upgrade ESXi from a USB Flash Drive by Using a Script

Performing a Scripted Installation or Upgrade of ESXi by Using PXE to Boot the Installer

PXE Booting the ESXi Installer

Overview of the PXE Boot Installation Process

PXE Boot the ESXi Installer Using TFTP

PXE Boot the ESXi Installer Using a Web Server

Installing ESXi Using vSphere Auto Deploy

Understanding vSphere Auto Deploy

Introduction to vSphere Auto Deploy

Rules and Rule Sets